MeAndTheBoys:ATeamDarkStory
by Mchovey
Summary: After the Black Arms invasion, Shadow the hedgehog has proved his loyalty to the planet, for the most part. G.U.N still wants to keep a watchful eye on the anti-hero, and what better way than with a babysitter. Rouge seems like a good candidate. Now the bat has to deal with a moody, alien-Mobian hybrid, and a trigger-happy killer robot, while they both attempt to be integrated into
1. StuckWithYou

Ch 1. Stuck with You

"Do I look like a babysitter to you?"

A female Mobian sat in front of a large desk looking quite irritated by having her nose put out of joint. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her generous chest and side eyed the human male that stood behind the oak piece of furniture in his office.

"Agent Rouge, this is not a request this is a command. This is your job."

"No, my job is to go on missions for G.U.N and file some boring paperwork, not to babysit the ultimate, freaking, life form."

"We need to keep tabs on Shadow, he saved the world but he still tried to blow it up at one point. We can't leave him to his own devices, not yet."

Rouge clicked her tongue and crossed her legs for the fifth time,

"Why me, huh?"

"You are the most familiar with Shadow, and you are well..."

"The only Mobian in your squadron." She answered for the man."

"We are trying to intergrade him he'll be attending his mandatory therapy sessions most of the time when he is not on missions and we will compensate you for his board. Honestly, I thought you would be happy to have Shadow back on your team."

"Hey, don't try to guilt trip me here. He was fine while he didn't have his memories, he just kind of went along with whatever I said, he was helpful even, but you've never work with the guy; once he started remembering stuff, he refused to fallow orders. He is the ultimate pre-Madonna." Rouge said crossing her legs to the left rather than the right this time.

The bat stood up and went to walk out of the room. The commander called out,

"Wait, you have yet to give me an answer."

Rouge leaned into the now open door and turned an eye to the man,

"I don't have a choice, it's my job, remember?"

Rouge walked down the hall back to her locker so she could gather her things and leave for the day. As she walked, she glanced up from her phone, that she had been using to check the time, and saw a dark figure approach her. She stopped and stared as Shadow the Hedgehog passed her going the direction of the Commander's office. His black and red quills were glossy against the sun beams that shown through the long windows on the far wall, but not as nice as she remembered them being. For some reason they almost looked a little greasy in a way. Shadow didn't even acknowledge her presence and just kept moving forward. Rouge huffed,

"Not even a hello? You better get use to having me around because we are going to be seeing a whole lot more of each other, hun."

Shadow continued on as though he was deaf and didn't hear the miffed female. The bat turned on her heels and she continued as well to her destination.

Rouge walked out into the G.U.N parking garage fallowed by the hulking contraption known as E-123 Omega. Rouge was in charge of Omega as well but the bat didn't mind that, Omega didn't need much that he couldn't get at G.U.N HQ; he didn't complain, he didn't cause trouble… for the most part. He even had a function that allowed him to be travel sized, of which Rouge was about to activate and proceed to pack the robot away in her car, until the shadowy figure returned. This time he carried a packet of papers and a stony face.

"Well are you going to say anything now? Hmm? Or am I just you chauffeur?" Rouge said placing her hands on her hips.

Shadow refused to make eye contact and stated coldly,

"I am required to accompany you, nothing more."

If the bat could roll her eyes any more, they would fall out of her head,

"You mean I am required to accompany you."

Rouge finished loading omega up into her custom white and pink car and climbed in herself. Shadow scowled at the bat but was ignored. Eventually he gave in and buckled up in the passenger seat.

The whole car ride was silent as Rouge drove and Shadow took glances out the window. He had never stopped to appreciate what Central City had to offer while it was still intact, now he couldn't. Most of the roads where uneven or broken all together. Rouge had to turn down a million detours just to get to Club Rouge. They passed groups of men working on rebuilding various buildings that had been destroyed during Black Dooms take over. The city was still empty for the most part with the survivors still evacuated; not that there would be much to come back to if they did return.

Before long Rouge was pulling into a small garage just off of the night club and penthouses. The bat and the hog got out of the car and the female went to grab Omega. She used all of here strength to pull him out of the car even with rollers. Shadow just stood and watched the bat struggle then turned to a door that lead to the club. They all walked in and silently stood waiting for someone to speak. Surprisingly that someone was Omega,

"It will be a pleasure to be working and destroying quote, stuff, with you again Shadow."

Shadow didn't look at the mechanical man, he only nodded and silently said,

"Same to you."

Omega walked off in a random detection and Rouge stayed behind staring at the dark male.

"What's your problem?" The bat spat out.

Shadow made contact with the bat's aqua eyes with his own piercing red ones,

"What are you implying."

Shadow stayed collected even though he was obviously irritated. Rouge placed a hand on her hip and another on the bar counter, that could honestly use a dusting,

"I thought you sorted your whole soul search thing out," Rouge threw air quotes into the atmosphere with her fingers, "why you still acting like an ass."

Shadow stared through the bat and with his cold, blood colored eyes. They had a staring match until Shadow broke it by turning his head and focusing on one of the many bottles on the bar racks,

"Just take me to my room and I'll get out of your hair."

Rouge was about to come back with a sassy remark but realized that what Shadow had said implied, that he knew how he acted and how it looked to others. Did that mean that Shadow does this stuff on purpose, Rouge thought. She slowly lowered her wings that had lifted in defense but now looked like they were balloons the were deflating. She turned to the pent house elevator and motioned for Shadow to fallow.

The elevator was very fancy in comparison to the party aesthetic of the club. There was gold trim all around every edge and the buttons shined brightly, not worn down from over use. Golden shutters closed the two Mobians in and then the elevator went up. They got to the top floor and entered through a green door. Rouge opened it up and reviled that they were on the roof. Off to the side a small building with a slanted roof stood. Rouge opened up the second door and then walked in the tiny home. The walls were bare and the floor was furniture less. Cob webs littered the ceiling and dust bunnies made their homes in the corners of the room. Shadow glanced around then turned to face Rouge. The female thought he was about to speak to her but all he did was pluck the key to the loft area out of her hand. She huffed and was about to leave the broody male to his own devices when she realized,

"When is the mover getting here so I can tell them where to go?"

Shadow had been caught off guard by the question, and gave Rouge a look that the bat had never seen from the dark male.

"What?" Shadow questioned

"The movers... with your," the woman realized her mistake halfway through her sentence, "where is your stuff?"

Shadow blinked confused,

"All my belongings are on me."

Rouge stared in disbelief at her team mate,

"What about a clothing, or a bed. Don't you at least have a sleeping bag; what have you been doing for the past 5 months?"

"Sleeping in trees... or in abandoned buildings." Shadow stated as though it should have been obvious, "I will make do. There is no need for concern. Not that you would give it."

Rouge shot Shadow a confused look of her own at his comment but in the end turned and left not wishing to be around him any longer. Shadow was alone. He cringed at the dirty floor. The dark male went to the bathroom and found that fourteenthly the bathroom did have a towel. He wet the cloth and wiped himself a place off on the ground. It looked like he was sleeping on the floor tonight.

"Good evening mister hedgehog please take a seat."

Shadow looked down at the cushioned chair then back up to the woman wearing a purple blouse and black dress pants. She had brown and gray hair cut into a clean bob. She was thin but short for a human. Her eyes where brown as well but oddly bright for the color and her age. The woman continued to smile patiently,

"Go on, the seat isn't going to bite you."

Shadow looked straight through the female who he assumed was Julia judging from the name plate on her desk. The other human in the room was becoming irritated with the hogs off putting behavior,

"I suggest you do as Dr. Baker says."

Shadow glanced over to Towers but then made a noise of detest with his nose,

"I would prefer to stand."

"Agent Sha-"

Commander Towers was cut off by Julia,

"It's alright Commander, I'm not going to force Shadow to do anything he does not want to."

The dark hog rolled his eyes,

"Too late for that."

"Why you little..." Towers barked out until he was halted yet again.

"Abraham could I talk to Shadow... alone please."

The man saluted before he left the room and soon it was only this little woman and the ultimate life form. She reformed here happy face,

"Welcome agent Shadow, my name is Julia Baker and I've been assigned to be your counselor while you are working with G.U.N. You may call me Dr. Baker."

Shadow continued his silence. Julia scanned the Mobian over looking for any sign of a reaction, but in the end found none. She handed the hog some papers,

"Here are some information packets about myself and what we plan to do while you are in my care. Feel free to read over them. We will be seeing each other every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday either during your work day or after, deepening on when Commander Towers deems it okay. We will start tomorrow, now, do you have any questions for me?"

"Yeah, can I go?"

"Well I-." Julia tried to get out.

"Great." Shadow didn't allow the woman to speak further. He turned around and left the room.

Shadow woke up with his face stuck to the hard wood floor. He groaned and rolled over popping his spinal column back into place. The dark male looked at his G.U.N issued communication watch the time was zero five hundred hours. Shadow pulled himself from the ground and got ready for his day the best he could. He pulled a tooth brush wrapped in toilet paper out of his quills. The bristles were worn down and he was overdue for a new one. He brushed his teeth using only water and force. Shadow hated to be dirty. It was bad enough when he had to use the black arms transport system, which was more of a gel than anything. The hog may not have been able to stomach it if it hadn't been for the fact that it didn't leave behind any residue. Maybe it had been the years of forced decontamination or the sterile environment he was used to for the sake of his late chronically ill friend, that made him this way. he had essentially a slight irrational fear of germs and a great irrational fear of filth. Irrational because the hybrid was incapable of becoming sick, even strong poisons that could kill a person within seconds had minimal effect on him. However, Shadow was not certain whether he could still carry illnesses and transfer them to others. Shadow stopped his thoughts and pushed them to the back of his mind. What did he care he thought to himself, its not like anyone cares about him that way. Not even those who he believed he could trust, really had his best interests in mind. Shadow finished with his teeth and laid the brush down after rewrapping it. he ran his hands through his quills attempting to fix them to the best of his ability. Shadow left the loft and locked the door behind himself. He didn't have to report to work until seven thirty and he was positive Rouge would not be awake yet. Shadow huffed at the thought of having to wait for that bat so she can keep her, she-devil, eyes on him. Shadow smirked to him self and felt a hint of rebellion coming on.

"Agent Rouge, you had strict orders to accompany Shadow!" Commander Towers stated sternly to the bat and Omega as they entered the control room.

"What?" The bat asked in defense, "it's not my fault if he skips out on me"

Towers turned to see Shadow standing by himself off in the corner, pretending as though he wasn't listening. Towers turned back to the female,

"Well at least he did as he was supposed to do."

The tall human suddenly whipped back around to the brooding hog,

"But That still doesn't excuse you going against G.U.N's wishes. You are to be chaperoned at all times."

Shadow, pft, under his breath,

"I'm an agent not child. I don't need a chaperone."

Towers patients was warring thin,

"Yes, you do. We can't have you just waltzing around here unsupervised"

Shadow raised his normally deep but soft voice,

"Doesn't anybody register the fact that I took down black doom. I saved the world. Am I always going to be treated like a convicted criminal?"

"Need I remind you that you also attempted to destroy that world that you saved. And you stole government property. And you were working with Dr. Eggman who is an enemy of the state!" Towers shouted back inches from the hedgehog's face.

Shadow hated the that this man was in his personal bubble. The hog was just about to let him know about it with a chaos spear when a soft voice was herd from the door way.

"Towers, May I see Shadow now or is this not a good time?"

The man straightened his back, then cleared his throat. His pale slightly wrinkled skin turned a light pink in the presents of the woman,

"Yes Dr. Baker that will be fine."

Shadow was once again in the woman's office. And, she once again asked him to take a seat and he once again refused. She sat herself in a red cushioned chair and acted as though Shadow wasn't being blatantly defiant,

"How are you today Shadow?"

The dark hog was becoming more and more fed up with this woman's upbeat behavior,

"Cut the shit, so I can get back to work."

"Oh, so you would rather be working than be here? Do you like to keep busy?" Julia said placing her chin on her folded hand.

"Yes of course." Shadow was suddenly unsure to which question he had just answered; maybe both.

"Is that why you showed up today two hours early, and by yourself?"

The hedgehog was silent and stared off into the distance deciding to ignore the woman as to not let any more information slip.

"That's fine to want to be by yourself, introversion is completely normal. I believe though that you are purposely cutting yourself off from everyone, and seclusion can be very harmful to your mental state," Julia stood up and walked to her desk and began to rummage through a drawer, "and I believe that is one of the reasons why you are trying to distract yourself with work. I think you need to start this healing process with a hobby; something you can do in your free time. So, what do you like to do?"

At this point Dr. Baker had found the file she was searching for and also some candy. She held a piece out, offering it to the dark hero. Shadow stared at the piece of chocolate then locked eyes with the woman,

"Why does everyone find enjoyment out of making fun of me? Do you like to try and embarrass me? Am I joke to you?"

Julia blinked confused,

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not crazy. I'm not mentally disturbed I'm just fine. The only reason I have been forced to attend these assign sessions, is because G.U.N wants to punish me; drag me through the dirt. I don't need a shrink. Next thing you know I'll be carted off to the loony bin."

The woman's eyes became concerned,

"No one is calling you crazy. You don't have to be insane to see a therapist. And honestly your thoughts on mental health seem to be very... archaic. I'm here to help you, you can trust me."

Shadow didn't know why he was even listening to this woman anymore. He sighed, giving in. There was not much he could do without causing himself more trouble.

"I don't have any interests other than work. I like to be useful I suppose."

Julia scrambled to recollect herself, remembering her previous question. She was about to try and think of some activity to suggest until she registered what Shadow had said,

"Do you...not feel like you're useful?"

Shadow stiffened his back at the accusation. The Dr. took the hint and decided to change the subject,

"Anyway, I understand you are having some issues with your friend Rouge."

"She is not my friend." Shadow spit out like venom.

Julia wrote something down on her note pad,

"And why is that, I thought you two use to work well together?"

"Yes, use to. That was before I regained most of my memory."

"Did she do something?" Julia questioned.

Shadow looked off to the side,

"It's what she didn't do."

The small woman was now excited, she was getting somewhere. She threw her papers back in her desk then said,

"Well, your first homework assignment is to talk to her about it. Figure out what went wrong then report back to me on Wednesday."

The woman's enthusiasm was throwing Shadow off.

"We will worry about the paper work later. I want you to be comfortable in you new living arrangements next time I see you, so you better come through for me."

She winked at the male and a timer on the desk went off. She ushered Shadow out of the room saying her goodbyes and then leaving a stunned hog out in the hall.

The rest of the day rouge trained Shadow on how to do mission reports and various other mundane tasks that G.U.N required. Shadow found it boring but also kind of relaxing in a way. Of course, Rouge had pretty much conned Shadow into doing a couple of her reports for her, claiming it to be "practice". Just before the days end, all of Squadron Nine, which were all the teams Towers was in charge of, filed into a tiny briefing room to discuss their various field work assignments for the week ahead. Sixteen human soldiers, two Mobians, and one gigantic robot were packed together like sardines. Towers was just about finish when he sniffed the air suddenly forming a grimace on his face,

"What is that? I keep smelling it...it's like wet dog."

All the humans in the room tried smelling the air and caught a slight whiff of what Towers was talking about, but their noses were nowhere near as good as the Mobian's. Rouge side eyed Shadow who was keeping a poker face, prying to any god that would listen that the subject would be dropped. Luckily it was, and all the soldiers and agents left without another word. Shadow fallowed Rouge out to the parking garage and once they were alone the bat faced Shadow,

"You know you're not too ultimate for showers, right?"

Shadow froze and stared trying not to seem embarrassed.

"You better start being clean because I have to be stuck with you every ride to work and back. You're taking a shower as soon as we get home. You're lucky I didn't say something back there."

Shadow lowered his head and clenched and unclenched his fist nervously,

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Rouge asked annoyed.

Shadow looked defeated he would just ignore her but if the Commander noticed today, he would definitely notice tomorrow.

"I can't because I don't own shampoo or soap. If I take a shower with just water, I'll end up smelling worse... not to mention my quills will look terrible and tangled."

Rouge shot her eyes open in surprise,

"You don't own… You don't have anything do you?"

Shadow shook his head.

"Gods Shadow, why didn't you say anything?" Rouge stated exasperated, and feeling like a jerk for not noticing sooner.

"I… didn't want pity. And the only person I could have asked for help from was you, and well… you've angered me lets put it that way," Rouge looked confused at the dark hog, "besides its embarrassing enough for a man to have to ask for financial help from a woman."

Rouges face of concern was suddenly rage. She reared her hand back and popped Shadow across the jaw,

"Where do you get off saying sexist shit like that?"

Shadow was honestly stunned he did not expect such a reaction to, his knowledge, a seemingly innocent statement. The dark hog growled,

"What the hell did I do to you… sexist?"

Rouge stopped her out burst upon seeing the hog's honest confusion. She moved her eyes over him until it hit her like a ton of bricks. Shadow was created and raised in the fifties. Another thing the poor male was having to deal with; culture shock. Rouge turned her head and sighed,

"I'm sorry for hitting you, but we will have a talk about this later. Right now, lets go to the store and pick up some stuff for you."

Shadow was about to protest when she shot him a glance while loading omega in the car,

"You can pay me back later."

During the drive it started to rain. The bat had the windshield wipers at max speed and was still having a hard time seeing. She was intent on watching the road until something caught her eye. Shadow was once again staring out the window but this time he was hunched over with his ears slightly drooping. He looked… small. She couldn't see his face but she imagined his frown. She realigned her focus on the road but without warning Shadow spoke,

"Why didn't you tell me about my past when you woke me up in Eggman's base?"

Shadow continued to look out the window. Rouge's eyes bounced back and forth between the road and the male. Her brows were creased and her mouth was a gape. She suddenly made a sharp turn, hydro plaining into an abandoned parking lot and parking the car. The action cause Shadow to jerk and grab on to the emergency handle above his head,

"What the hell? Why did you…"

"Is that what this is all about? Do you think I hid stuff from you on purpose?"

Shadow was wide eyed. His ruby irises scanned the woman,

"Yes, that is exactly what I think… am I… wrong?"

Rouge laughed under her breath,

"Very. Shadow when I woke you up, I was under the impression that you were dead and had been for five months. I wasn't sure if you were really you. I was even more confused when the whole, you protentional being an android clone that Eggman had created, thing happened. And another thing, I'm no expert or whatever but I'm pretty sure that when some on has amnesia you're not supposed to influence their memories."

Shadow looked deep into the female's aqua eyes, searching for the truth,

"But not saying anything is the same as lying… I…"

Rouge looked away a little guilty,

"Well… before that happened you and me were not really friends… I just knew you from when I was working undercover to dig up dirt on Eggman's schemes. I know that doesn't excuse it but I felt like we became close after all that. I don't know. I guess I could have handled it better as well."

Shadow looked deep in thought. Had he miss read the whole situation? He had forgotten that everyone thought he was dead, maybe he too was… wrong.

"I apologize for causing this misunderstanding." Shadow whispered.

Rouge's jaw was almost on the floor she hadn't ever expected Shadow to apologize. The hog was smart after all, maybe if he could change his tune so easily with just logical reasoning, then perhaps there was hope for him yet.

"I'm sorry too. See there, now we're even. Let's get you to the store now, you need a shower stat."

Back in G.U.N headquarters Dr. baker was on a call. The woman pointed an accusing finger to the air as she spoke over the receiver,

"No. No. Look, I don't believe you have given me all the information on agent Shadow that you have. Why would you withhold information from me, I'm his psychiatrist?"

She waited and listened to the voice on the other end but was becoming impatient,

"No! I don't care. If I'm going to help him, I'm going to need lab reports, medical history, any information you can give me. I was under the impression that this was just a case of depression, this is much deeper than that. No, I can't just give him meds and send him home! I thought he was a criminal you wanted to help him Intergrade into… I see."

The feisty woman turned her nose up at the voice,

"I don't care! Have his files on my desk by tomorrow!"

With that Julia slammed the phone down back onto the hook.


	2. PaperOrPlastic

Ch 2 Paper or Plastic?

On the other end of town that was slightly more populated than the other because of less damage, team dark entered a grocery store. They all made a bee line to the toiletries aisle, attracting attention from a few turning heads who just saw a hulking robot enter the store. Rouge grabbed a cart and directed Shadow to the Mobian portion of the aisle. The shelves were stacked with everything from wing lotion to fur trimmers. Shadow knelt down in front of the quill products. He looked over one of the shampoos that said it had built in quill softener and another that said maximum sleek and shine. He ended up going with the latter, he had no desire to be soft. No, he wanted to be as sharp as possible. The dark hog threw the item into the cart and moved on to the body wash. Later they passed by some cakes out on display in the bakery. Shadow would make longing glances at the pastries but continued his silence. Rouge however noticed. Meanwhile the bat was doing some shopping of her own and Omega was just content being included. The robot eventually motored off to scan the selection of automobile polish and sealers. The robot returned moments later with a large jug of Formula F-15; Mirror Shine. The mechanical man, who more represented a child in the moment, thrust the item out to Rouge. Rouge didn't pay him much mind as she perused the makeup formulated to be placed over face fur,

"Maybe if you're good Omega."

For a moment Shadow could have sworn he saw determination behind those red lenses. Speaking of child, at that moment a tiny Mobian was holding a hand out to the dark hero from inside a shopping cart. The bright-eyed Collie puppy sat in a buggy while his mother had her back turned looking over, long coat fur conditioner. The child reached an arm out and waved.

"Hi. Hi." The pup cooed out in a cute, high-pitched voice.

Shadow froze. He didn't want to seem weird and ignore the child, but he also didn't want to let his guard down just because a baby was trying to interact with him. Shadow decided it was best the answer the child in some way; he knew a child of this age would not let up or take the hint if he was not given a response. He had learned this from similar past experiences. Shadow raised a hand and lightly waved a tiny wave making eye contact with the kid. The puppy smiled and giggled at Shadow, and the dark hero felt a bit of nostalgia. He remembered a time when he was that small… for about a week of his life. he recalled being very small when he was first released from his suspension chamber. He was introduced to Maria and she instantly fell in love with him. At least that's how he remembered it. they would play juvenile games like peekaboo and she spoon fed him mashed foods. A week later Gerald had announced that it was time to go back into the chamber to continue his growth acceleration. He remembered falling asleep in the chemical bath and them waking up bigger and more cognitive. He remembered Maria cried for days after she saw him again. It was later explained that he had been asleep for another week and in that time aged to the body of a seven-year-old. it was strange for him to remember that not but a week prior not even having the brain function to form a proper sentence. Those sessions in the chamber continued until the doctor deemed him adequate to allow natural growth. Those body accelerations had caused some… interesting and embarrassing effects on his hormone levels at the time.

A young dark hoglet darted around a corner attempting to not be detected. He giggled to himself as he made his way down a long corridor. He had been let out of his training sessions early that day and was off to surprise his best friend in the whole wide world, if they lived on that world that is. Maria would be so exited to play with him an hour earlier than usual. The child physically looked to be about thirteen but had shaggy uneven fur as if he was molting and losing his baby quills and simultaneously had a strange deep voice that didn't match his body and would occasionally crack. He was about to round another corner when a sliding door to one of the dorm rooms opened behind him.

"Ouch! Damn it!" one of the male scientists that worked aboard the ark, shouted as he stepped out in his night robe and slippers, "What have we told you about running through the halls while you're shedding like a dog!"

Shadow looked down at the man's feet to see he had left a quill trail behind himself. Black and red razor-sharp needles littered the floor and the man had just stepped on one, stabbing him through his slipper. Fortunately, it wasn't serious. Shadow rubbed his arm nervously,

"Sorry sir. I forgot. I was just really exited about going to see Maria. We have been playing this game where I am a knight from one of her story books, and she is a wizard with magic powers, and me and her have to save the kingdom from dragons and evil knights; she is really good at play pretend, the best even, we had to stop yesterday during a really good part where she has to use her powers to bring me back to life and…"

"You shouldn't be playing games with a little girl," Shadow looked taken aback by the man's interruption, "You are too old for that, and you're the ultimate life form for peats sake, start acting like it."

With that the man turned down the hall heading in the opposite direction,

"and god damn It, clean this up!"

Shadow knelt down and began picking up every fallen quill off the ground.

"Sir? Sir. Sir!"

A very disgruntled dog Mobian was now in Shadows face,

"sir, why are you staring at my child like that?"

Shadow woke from his daze and locked confused eyes with the snarling woman,

"Huh? Was a?"

"Yes, for about six minutes you just stared at him. I suggest you leave us alone or I will be forced to call the authorities. Pervert."

The woman moved on to another aisle, leaving Shadow with furrowed brows and Rouge concerned that they may be kicked out of the store. Shadow turned to Rouge,

"Why did she just call me a pervert?"

Rouge cringed. She thought she would be used to Shadows weird behavior by now,

"I'll tell you in the car. Let's hurry up and get out of here before someone really does call the cops."

They all made it out side to the car with their groceries. They then packed them into the trunk and took off down the road.

"What? Why would someone do that?" Shadow yelled out into the enclosed car in rage.

"I don't know hun. There are some messed up evil people in this world." Rouge replied focused on the road.

The rain had halted for the time being but looked as though it could start back up at any time. Shadow scowled and folded his arms at the thought of the information that he had just discovered about the crazy world he lived in. internal rage was brewing. If he ever found out someone did that to a child, he would rip them limb from limb. Shadow's train of thought was interrupted by Omega blurting a robotic statement out from the back seat,

"Reminder. Do not forget to call builders for Club Rouge."

"Oh yeah. Thank Omega."

Shadow looked back and forth between the two,

"You use Omega as a memo pad?"

"Hey! Between working, running a club, and looking after you two I need a little help. Sue me." Rouge glanced at Shadow briefly to catch the hogs full attention, "which reminds me, you and me still need to have a talk about how you talk to women."

"I'm listening." Shadow replied, honestly intrigued in what the bat had to say.

"First off, you obviously think that women and men have to abide to certain rules." Rouge stated.

Shadow scanned the females face,

"Don't they?"

Rouge dead panned,

"Obviously not. I don't fallow gender roles."

"Yes, you do. You are feminine. You are very into make up and fashion and you care about your physical appearance."

"Yes, but I'm also a G.U.N agent. I work for the military. I'm a business woman."

"You're not married or have children to stay home with." Shadow stated making his own conclusions.

"Exactly. And look at you, you just said that women have to care about their appearance, but you obviously do that to," the hog stared at the bat as she spoke captivated by the intriguing conversation, "I'm sorry to inform you but the way you think about gender roles is very out dated. So are a lot of other things you think as well. You can keep on the way you're going if you want, but all I'm going to tell you is that it only makes you look like an uneducated jack ass."

"Oh…" Shadow paused in thought for a moment, "If I continue the pattern will you tell me of my mistakes?"

The bat was so shocked she almost swerved into the other lane,

"Are you… Asking me for my help?"

The female had honestly expected to start a screaming match with the dark hog, maybe even cause him to want to fight. She didn't want that, but she also was not about to back down from speaking her mind. She wasn't afraid of him. Shadow sighed,

"Yes… If we are forced to be in each other's presence, then I might as well not rock the boat any more than necessary."

Rouge looked Shadow from top to bottom. She started with his pointed ears then his ruby irises, all the way down to his rocket shoes. She smiled sympathetically. He was just a lonely kid who had been through hell and had to carry around a lot of baggage. He was still impressionable. Why just moments ago in the check-out line, she caught him staring at a designer, Reebok track jacket, in a magazine. The item was being sported by a young boy with the latest hair cut and pouty face. The magazine read, The Coolest Looks for Fall; she saw in Shadow's eyes he wanted it. At least he had good taste, she thought.

"Okay, I will." She said with a grin, "But we don't have to be enemies anymore you know. We can put all that stuff behind us and chill and kick ass, like we use to."

Shadow looked like he was about to protest until a robotic voice came from the back seat,

"I second that notion."

Rouge laughed a little under her breath,

"Omega, you were so quiet back there I almost forgot about you. See Shadow, Omega really missed you too, and you have barley spoken two words to the poor guy."

Shadow looked back at the compacted form the robot had taken. He was a black box with gold trim and only a flap that would pop up to reveal his red eye lights.

"Incorrect." The machine bellowed, "I find enjoyment in working by Shadow's side in battle situations."

"Not true, you said to me that you were and I quote, disappointed that Shadow did not acknowledge your presence." Rouge stated, looking at angry lenses through her rear-view mirror.

"File name, Come Backs; opening file; Shut up Rouge!"

Shadow watched the little flap at the top of the box flip back down hiding the fact that there was ever a sentient being in the back seat. The male couldn't help but grin to himself as he continued his stare out the window. Rouge noticed that too.

A day had passed since Rouge took Shadow to the store; the dark male was quite happy with the results of his new hygienic products. He felt fresh and clean, his quills were glossy and smooth, and he smelled like old spice. The only thing he wished he had was a hair dryer, not only so it wouldn't take so long for his copious amount of quills to dry but because he secretly enjoyed having that extra bit of fluff to himself. He proudly held his head high as he worked on various assignments. He still attacked hateful looks from the occasional nosey parker, who thought they were rough and tumble, but Shadow paid them no mind. He had to be on his best behavior so he could get gun off his back, besides his first field mission was tomorrow and he would defiantly prove himself there. One o'clock rolled around and Shadow was met with a solider walking up to him instructing him to see Dr. Baker. The hog did as he was told and made his way up to her office.

"Hello Shadow," Julia said as the hedgehog entered the room, "How have you been?"

Shadow stood in the middle of the room with his arms folded,

"Fine."

The woman riffled through a drawer as she spoke,

"Please take a seat."

Shadow glanced down at the cushioned chair and sighed as he sat,

"you're really not going to give up are you."

"Nope. I don't give up easily Mister Hedgehog."

Shadow looked off to the side and gave the woman a sarcastic smirk,

"Neither do I."

The woman pulled out a piece of candy for the hog to take yet again, but Shadow didn't move,

"Do you not enjoy sweets? Oh, maybe you're just full. You only had your lunch break thirty minutes ago. Did you have anything good?"

Shadow frowned,

"I had my break but I did not eat. Honestly, I find lunch breaks to be a waste of my time, I do not need breaks and I can sustain myself on Chaos energy alone."

The human looked up from what she was doing with a concerned expression,

"You don't eat… At all?"

Shadow looked deep into the woman's chocolate brown eyes. She was doing it again. Some how she had this power to will him to speak.

"I don't require it… very often. I… I prefer it so I may stay at my peak performance but… it is not mandatory."

"When was the last time you ate, Shadow?" Julia mumbled out still shocked.

Shadow broke eye contact to look to the side in thought,

"one to two months ago."

Suddenly Julia stood from her seat and walked to a mini fridge she had in the corner of the room,

"Do you like chicken alfredo?"

"No no no. You don't have to…"

"This is not a request, Shadow," the petite woman said interrupting the male, "This is the Dr.'s orders."

She pulled out a Tupperware container and placed it into a microwave on top of the fridge. While the machine was nuking Shadow's soon to be meal Julia spoke,

"Anyway, how have things been going with you and Rouge since we last talked?"

"Oh, um, well I suppose. We sorted things out." Shadow said still confused by baker's reaction.

Julia came back and handed the hot food to Shadow,

"You actually talked to her, Shadow I'm so proud of you!"

Shadow blushed slightly. She had said she was proud of him for the second time since meeting him. This time though he felt he sort of deserved it; talking to Rouge about their issues hadn't been easy for him to do.

"Yes… it turned out that it was a misunderstanding for the most part." Shadow said eating a bite of the pasta.

Julia smiled,

"Now don't you feel a weight lifted from your shoulders?" she allowed Shadow enough time to nod before she continued, "Now I'd like to talk to you about something you said last time you were here. You told me you like to feel useful, what did you mean by that?"

Shadow gulped down his current bite before speaking, as to not talk with his mouth full. He really didn't want to talk about such a subject but the little woman had proved to be resilient,

"I… I'm the ultimate life form I was created by the worlds greatest scientist for what I believe to be the purpose of curing a disease that doesn't matter anymore and to protect this world."

Shadow sneered at his next statement,

"But I get to this planet and the job of protecting this world has already been filled."

"Sonic?" Julia asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes… Sonic." Shadow answered, "I'm not needed… I don't have a purpose."

"I don't believe that's true. Sonic could always use help." Shadow tisked at her words but, she continued, "and he isn't going to be six teen forever. But you are immortal, yes? You will always be here to help those in need."

"Maybe." Shadow cringed, that was honestly another thing he didn't want to think about.

Julia realized what she had implied. The poor woman wasn't used to situations like this. She never thought in a million years she would have an alien-Mobian hybrid, that is immortal, over fifty years old but looks nineteen, acts like a moody teenager, chaos powered, hedgehog as a patient.

"Not that I think you should wait around for Sonic to… oh dear." The Dr. took a seat and recollected her thoughts, "I think you working for G.U.N is a good way to start, if you want to help people. Maybe… one day… you can ask Sonic if he would like your help on one of his future adventures."

Shadow gave the psychiatrist her expected response to the last statement. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Despite his attitude Julia could tell Shadow was in a much better mood than the previous day they met.

"So is Rouge helping you out in any way, or are you just on speaking terms now?"

"She is an annoying gossip, who flirts with everyone she meets… But she has helped me," Shadow decided to keep his hygiene issue to himself, "and she is showing me what is considered not appropriate behavior in this day and age."

"What do you mean?"

"You now like sexism, stereo typing, things that are not correct that I was taught," Shadow looked to the ground confused and shook his head, "You would think men of science would be more educated than that."

Dr. Baker snorted a little under her breath,

"Well that's very good too, I think you and Rouge have the makings to become great friends."

This time Shadow pft with a small smile as he turned his head so the professional couldn't see. Julia smiled as well. Her grin quickly turned serious as she remembered something she wanted to talk about,

"Shadow?" the hog looked up from his food as she spoke softly, "I'd like to talk about your friend Maria."

Silence fell over the room but was interrupted by Shadow's Tupperware dish splattering on the floor as he abruptly stood. Alfredo sauce seeped into the carpet and Julia's eyes went wide for a moment before going back to an impartial size. Shadow stared through the woman with death in his blood red irises.

"I thought you seemed to know more then the last time," Shadow growled, "You have no right to my records. That's my business!"

"I actual do. Under normal circumstances no, but you are a convicted criminal technically, so I need your records to study your case."

Shadow grabbed the arm of the chair he was previously in and threw it against the wall, smashing it to splinters. Julia held her ground at her desk and said nothing.

"Rouge even has the common decency not to ask me questions like that, what makes you thing you can? And convicted criminal? Why not convict the criminals that murdered an entire space colony along with an innocent child! Oh wait, I forgot G.U.N has a do as I say not as I do policy!"

Shadow turned and headed for the door. Just as he was about to leave he left the Dr. with one final statement,

"Don't ever speak to me again or I'll rip you limb from limb."

He didn't yell, his voice was calm and cold as he spoke the last sentence. It chilled Julia to the bone. The dark Mobian then slammed the door and left.

Back with Omega and Rouge they were in the middle of prepping for there mission the next day. Shadow stomped back into the supplies room where the packed their gear.

"well there he is did you enjoy your extended break?"

Shadow yanked his own bag off the wall and proceeded to fill it with his weapons of choice. Rouge took note of the silence and rough treatment to the items,

"Did something happen?"

Shadow shifted his eyes to meet hers and with a slight nod said,

"I'll tell you in the car."


	3. You, Me, and a Whole Pack of Robots

Ch 3. You, Me, and a Whole Pack of Robots.

The whole of team dark packed themselves into the car before they took off for the night.

"She tried to manipulate me, get me to let my guard down so I'd talk." Shadow hissed out in the passenger seat.

Rouge blinked at the unprompted exclamation. Then she remembered what Shadow had said four hours prior. The bat gave a soft smile. Shadow must have been dying to tell someone, to let his anger out.

"And how did she do that?"

"By pretending to be..." the hog motioned erratically with his hands trying to find the right words, "nice, I guess."

Rouge gazed at the hog with half lidded eyes,

"And what did she do that has you so riled up?"

Shadow stiffened, then looked away silently. Rouge hummed as she kept her eyes on the road,

"Hun, I know you want to let your anger out. If you won't talk to her talk to me."

Shadow looked over his shoulder to peek at the bat before breathing out slowly preparing himself for the conversation,

"She asked me about Maria."

The smug grin on the bats muzzle fell away,

"Oh... I'm sorry Shadow."

Defining quite engulfed the car once more. Rouge cleared her throat as she thought about what she should say,

"You know it's her job to ask you those questions, it's her job to talk about the tough stuff with you and help you sort it out."

Shadow looked like he was breathing out steam,

"I'm upset because she knows about... my business already. It's like I have no privacy!"

"I know, but she is the only one aloud to see your records. And she is sworn to secrecy."

"Rouge do I look like I'm an idiot, I know G.U.N can do whatever they please."

"Here me out though, when it comes to her, I feel like she really does want to help. And like I said, she is just doing her job. How would you feel if someone got pissed at you every time you destroyed a robot?"

"But I can't do my job without destroying robots."

Shadow locked eyes with Rouge, who was raising her brows at the male. Shadow felt a tinge of guilt,

"Okay I see what you are saying... so you think I overreacted?"

"Well, I'd say she has people get mad at her all the time." Rouge said as she cut someone off causing them to lay on their horn.

"I destroyed her chair and threatened to dismember her."

Rouge creased her brows,

"Yeah, maybe just a smidge."

Rouge drove past Club Rouge granting her a confused glance from Shadow. The dark hog realized they were heading in the same direction they had gone the other day,

"Are we going to the store again?"

The bat pulled into a parking lot and began looking for her wallet to pay the parking fee,

"No, I'm hungry and I figured that you might need some stress food."

"Rouge, I won't have you paying for me again."

Rouge only proceeded to exit the car and unload the robot in the back seat. Once she was done and had successfully ignored the protesting male, she closed the door leaving Shadow alone in the car. Shadow pinched the bridge of his little black nose and groaned. The striped male stepped out and fallowed his companions.

The group walked a couple blocks from the lot and found themselves in a cute family own restaurant. The sign read, _Chun-nan Buffet_. Shadow turned to Rouge,

"What?"

The bat answered his unasked question,

"This is place is owned by some family of mine, not close family but family. They got really good food and it's one of the few places that let me bring Omega in."

Shadow cocked a brow,

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, their kids love him. They keep calling him a... gun-dam, or something like that."

They all walked in and were met by a short, deep violet, bat woman. Shadow noticed however that she didn't look exactly like Rouge. Unlike Rouge the older woman had the dark fur covering the entirety of her body, not just her head and tail. Her wings connected to her arms, instead of separated on her back. The woman's eyes were also almond shaped and the hair on the top of her head was tied in a bun.

"Hello Rouge." The woman said in a thick accent.

"Hey Chrissy, me and my friends just would like to do the buffet."

Rouge continued to chat with the lady while Shadow noticed a large fish tank. Fish of all shapes and techno color hues glided by each other gracefully in the tank, with their beautiful, long fins trailing behind them. Fake coral of pinks, greens, reds and blues, were scattered across clear pebbles along the faux ocean bed. Large plastic decorative pieces, held more fish that would occasionally peek from there hiding spots. All the creatures in the tank seemed to almost glow and reflect the light from the violet bulbs at the roof of the encloser. The colorful underwater display was suddenly disrupted by a sickly yellow and brown puffer fish emerging from behind a golden, plastic dragon, haphazardly bumbling about. The creature's eyes went out in two opposite directions and its mouth was at a constant gape. It was deflated but still round and a few of its spines had long since snapped off. Shadow was entranced by the stark difference between the lovely aquarium and the ugly creature floating in it, lazily.

"Hey, let's go to our seats… Oh, I see you've met Greg." Rouge said snapping Shadow from his thought.

"…Greg?"

"Yeah, that old puffer fish has been here since they opened this restaurant. And yes, he has always looked a little derpy, age just hasn't done him any favors." Rouge laughed into her hand.

Shadow tore his eyes away from the tank,

"Why?"

The bat honestly had not expected the question. Her face dropped,

"I don't fallow, hun."

"Why keep it. It doesn't match the tank. It throws the display all off."

"They bought him. It's not his fault he is a little different from the others. They aren't going to just get rid of him because he doesn't fit the scenery."

Shadow took in the words, then looked back at Greg's separated eyes,

"But it would be easier than having to care for it, less expensive too, and time consuming. Then they could have a perfect aquarium."

Rouge had the feeling that they weren't talking about the fish anymore. She looked deep into Shadow's red irises through the reflection of the glass,

"Well… They care more about Greg's happiness and wellbeing then the draw backs. But Greg isn't a nuisance, he brings in customers, he helps business, people comeback all the time to see him. Sometimes lonely people come to eat, and they feel a little better with Greg around, because they feel like they are sharing a meal with a friend."

Shadow continued to peer into the watery habitat. The bat nudged his side,

"Besides look he's kind of cute in an ugly fish way. Hey, come on, lets grab our seats, I'm starved."

They all sat around a table. Even Omega, who had managed to squeeze himself beside Shadow. The waitress came around soon after and asked the gang what they were going to have to drink. Omega blurted out that he did not require sustenance, and the waitress only ignored him with a knowing smile, as if it was a common occurrence. She turned to Rouge who ordered an ice water with lemon. After the bat's order, both women looked at Shadow. The hog was caught off guard by the whole situation but quickly recollected himself,

"I'll just have a water too."

The waitress left and Rouge got up from the table. Shadow held his hand out to stop her,

"Where are you going?"

Rouge paused for a moment before realizing that Shadow had probably never been to a buffet before, let alone any restaurant for that matter,

"You're supposed to go fill your own plate. Come on I'll show you. Omega watch my purse."

"Affirmative."

Rouge grabbed Shadow's arm and lifted him out of the seat. She dragged him to the buffet and handed him a plate from one of the racks. Shadow watched the bat fish food out of the deep dishes lined in a row. Shadow then noticed the tongs she was using,

"Does everyone use the same tongs?"

Rouge snatched up the last of the seafood salad that was left in the bowl,

"Yeah, is that a problem?"

Shadow blinked. He looked Rouge in the eye and gave her a face as if to say, are you crazy,

"Isn't that unsanitary? You don't know who has touched those, let alone the food."

Rouge gave Shadow a reassuring smile,

"Don't worry, they change the utensils out every two hours and they keep it very clean, trust me."

Shadow looked unconvinced. Sure, the owners might try their best to keep everything clean, but they have no control over their coatomers. Some people are downright disgusting. Shadow recalled the scientists aboard the Ark that would not wash their hands after using the restroom. Sterilization had been a key factor to life on the Ark, but most of the scientists would break such a simple and mandatory rule. He often wondered if they even thought about what they could infect Maria with, or cared. Shadow glanced up to Rouge's face and noticed she was waiting for an answer,

"Alright… I guess it's not like I can get sick anyway."

The truth was that Shadow would have refused if it not been for the fact that Rouge already paid for his meal. He placed a couple of skewered and honey glazed pieces of meat on his plate.

"Ah, rat on a stick, a fine choice."

Shadow looked at the meat then back to Rouge with disgust and horror. Rouge laughed at his reaction,

"I'm joking, its only chicken, you should see the look on your face though."

Shadow huffed annoyed and decided to return to his seat next to his robotic companion. Rouge soon joined them with a full plate. She dug in and Shadow carefully inspected his meal. He took a carful bit and decided that it wasn't half bad; great even. He had to admit that it was a thousand times better than the prepackaged meals he had to eat in space. Shadow was not used to all these new foods, he used to get excited when he was aloud those hard as brick, oatmeal cookies that sometimes came in when the Ark would get supplies. Eating an actual meal for once reminded him of what he had done earlier to Julia and the pasta she had given him. Shadow frowned to himself, then looked to his empty plate.

"Is that all you're eating?"

Shadow acknowledged the voice with a questioning glance,

"That's all I took; I didn't know if I'd like it so…"

"Honey, you can go get as much food as you want, as many times as you want. That's the point of a buffet."

Shadow looked back at the buffet behind himself then back to Rouge with a childlike gleam behind his crimson eyes. Rouge responded by wiggling her brows. That day the bat learned that Shadow could pack it away. She was extremely jealous of the boy's metabolism. He hadn't commented on the more savory foods, however when Rouge mentioned that they had an ice cream machine, Shadow almost dragged her out of the seat so she could show him. She pressed down a lever filling her cone with chocolate ice cream, all while Shadow watched intently, waiting for his turn. Rouge tried her best to hold in her chuckles when the strong and silent male would stick his pink tongue out to lick his strawberry cone, like a kitten lapping up milk. Upon returning to their seats they saw that Omega had an audience. six rowdy bat children, of varying purple shades, were hanging from the robot's hefty arm plates like a jungle gym. Once the kids were spotted, they all started yelling to Rouge, each one interrupting the other. The youngest of the six, a small magenta, colored girl, tugged on Shadow's leg to get his attention,

"Hi. I'm Kimmi. What's your name?"

Shadow halted the devouring of his sweet treat,

"I am Shadow."

The girl blushed and hid her face in her hands. Shadow coked a brow at the child's response. The oldest boy now realized Shadow's presence as well,

"Hey, are you a cool soldier too?"

Shadow puffed up his chest at the statement,

"Yes I am."

"Sweet!" Shadow felt his ego inflate with the kid's amazement, until his next statement came out, "Do you know Sonic, you kind of look like him."

"I look nothing like that faker besides the fact that I too am a hedgehog," the salt was real, "can Sonic do this?"

Shadow didn't know if it was the sugar, but he felt the need to show off and impress these children. He held his hand out and with a shout,

"Chaos Spear!"

Summoned the yellow energy projectile in his hand. Rouge almost spit out her ice cream as all the kids looked at him in wonder,

"Shadow! Not inside! Put that away!"

Shadow realized that he had the attention of the whole restaurant. He looked out at the horrified faces of the adult patrons and quickly extinguished his power as his cheeks turned red. With his enhanced hearing he could hear their hushed words of disapproval and judgment. He wasn't able to dwell on it for long though, because one of the kids spoke up,

"That was the coolest thing I'd ever seen!"

Damn right it was, Shadow thought, I'm the coolest. Omega piped up after carefully plucking a young boy off of his head unit,

"Shadow is also very skilled in hand to hand combat, as well as a multi range of weapons expertise, in comparison to Sonic the hedgehog."

Rouge examined the scene with a smile. Maybe she could get used to having these two around.

The next day all three agents were packed and ready to go. They had been briefed on their mission, which involved breaking into Dr. Eggman's base and uncovering his next move, as they prepared to jump from a helicopter. Pretty standard stuff, except for the fact that G.U.N's guy on the inside had reported a lack of the Dr's actual presence at his main base. This gave the team a perfect opportunity to wreak the place and learn something new in the process. Omega cocked his machine guns, that he had equipped to his arms, in excitement. Rouge made sure her outfit was on point; had to make sure she looked good while she kicked ass. Shadow inspected his hand gun once more before smirking to himself and jumping from the air craft first. They all landed safely on the roof of the towering structure of the not so secret base, in their own preferred ways. Omega simply landed without trouble, Rouge fluttered down and Shadow spun into a ball and crashed through the ceiling. It didn't matter how loud they were anyway, the whole point was to destroy the place. Omega hopped through the opening next with Rouge seated on his shoulder. She quickly soared away once the trigger-happy robot began firing at all the Egg pawns that Shadow hadn't yet hit with his homing attack,

"Finally! Witness my power, inferior Eggman robots!"

Rouge allowed the two to clear a path for her while she trailed behind searching for the control room. They raced through the base causing explosions left and right. Omega was like a kid in a candy store, and Shadow wasn't far behind. The hog had needed to get out some aggression. Rouge soared down the hall finding nothing but useless rooms but having a good laugh at her boys' excitement all the same. She could see the happiness in Shadow's serious face. She peered into one of the rooms but this time a robot had been lying in wait to get the jump on her. It didn't have the chance however because Shadow cast out a Chaos Spear impaling the machine. The dark hero glided in front of Rouge and the bat thought she was about to be reprimanded for her carelessness. Instead Shadow granted her with a smirk and said,

"Look, rat on a stick."

He then skated away leaving Rouge dumbfounded. She laughed out into the air; it was just like old times. The gang were on the fifty-seventh floor of the massive tower when Rouge finally found the control room. Shadow and Omega guarded the door while the spy did her thing. She typed away at a massive computer and plugged in a recovery disc to download all the files onto. The agent paused reading something that caught her eye,

"Um... well that's interesting."

"What is it?" Shadow called to her from the hall.

"It looked like the reason we haven't seen the Dr is because he is in space."

Shadow looked to Omega as if the robot and him had some sort of secret language, even though one of them had limited facial expressions. He returned his attention to Rouge,

"The Ark?"

"Don't think so. It seems he is building something. Big."

She tried to access the file listed under Project Gaia, but upon opening it a cartoonish depiction of Eggman's face appeared on screen. An obnoxious high-pitched giggle came from the speakers and four steal walls dropped down around the bat. Shadow yelled out for Rouge but she was trapped in the tight cube. Omega fired everything he had at the box but the material was tough. Shadow stopped the frantic robot,

"Omega, even if you do break through, you'll hit Rouge. Let me think."

A muffled voice came from inside the trap,

"Guys hurry up the walls in this thing are closing in!"

Robots began filling the room, surrounding the hedgehog, robot, and trapped bat. A count down started on the screen that once held the Dr's secrets,

"Hold on we have problems of our own!" Shadow shouted.

"Omega!" The muffled voice said, "The floor isn't reinforced!"

"Understood."

The mechanical man burst a hole in the ground dropping to the floor below. Once down, he tore through the approximate area where the trap held his friend and the bat appropriately hung upside down from the fresh opening. Shadow dropped to their level as well,

"We have fifty seconds before this place goes! Hold on to me!"

Shadow reached into his quills and pulled out a green Chaos emerald. Rouges eyes went wide,

"Great! Chaos Control us out!"

"I can't Chaos Control all three of us with only one emerald." Shadow grunted before holding up the gem.

"Then what?"

"Omega blow a hole through the ceiling! Rouge help fly Omega up!" the hero yelled to his companions.

They both did as they were instructed as Shadow watched the count down. He took his raised hand and with a shout thrusts it toward the ground,

Chaos blast!"

The powerful blast directed at the floor launched Shadow up and caused a chain reaction with the detonation. The hog flew up and grabbed a hold of Omega s feet and pulled both himself and Rouge into the safety of the robot's chest plate. The pressure of the Fire and blast forced the backside of the bot's body to the surface while the organic life forms hid protected from the blast. A mechanical voice rang out into the air as the team erupted from the top of the base like a volcano,

"Weeeeeee!"

Once in the air Omega turned on his rocket thrusters aiding Rouge in carrying the groups weight. Shadow held on to the robot's arm and with the biggest, happiest smile, barked out a laugh,

"Ha ha! I'd like to see Sonic do that!"

Rouge looked down in wonder at the adrenaline induced outburst and smiled.

After they had returned to G.U.N headquarters they gave the run down on what had happened, to Towers. They would complete their official reports on the fallowing day but for now speaking with the Commander and getting some much-needed rest would do.

"The control room was a trap, and the whole place was set to blow anyway." Rouge said sitting on the edge of the human's desk.

"If I know the doctor, then that means that he has moved his true base of operations elsewhere already. This was merely a distraction." Shadow stated with his arms folded

Rouge turned her head to meet Shadow's gaze,

"A distraction for whatever he has going on in space? Still it was pretty brazen to put some actual info in his trap. Project Gaia sounds very interesting."

Towers spoke from behind the desk,

"Unless it was a red herring."

Shadow looked as though he was more talking to himself than the others as he stared at the carpet in thought,

"Not likely. That is just how the Dr. likes to play his games. We need to dig up anything we can find about this Gaia."

Towers looked almost proudly at Shadow,

"I will get my intelligence team on that at once. You did excellent work today Team Dark."

Shadow only nodded his head to the man, but secretly was soaking up the praise like a sponge.


	4. The Right Thing To Do

Ch 4. The Right Thing To Do

Shadow sat at a computer filling out his report for the day prior. He had amazingly slept like a baby even though he still didn't own a bed. He thought about his mission with his comrades and a small faint grin appeared on his face. It didn't last long though, because at that moment a solider approached him,

"Agent Shadow Dr Baker is requesting you for your session."

He had almost forgotten about the therapist he was supposed to see and then he remembered what he had done. Shadow's face went blank,

"Oh..."

He hadn't been reprimanded for the act, so Dr Baker must have not reported it. Shadow wondered if she had failed to do so because of fear or... He slowly got up from his seat and proceeded to walk out the double doors.

Shadow walk at a snail's pace to the office. Why did he feel so nervous confronting the woman all of a sudden? She could not harm him and if she failed to report his behavior the day prior there was nothing she could do now. No, he was nervous because he knew what he was about to do. Anxiety filled his every step as he was whisked away to another time.

_"I'm sorry Maria." said a tiny hoglet as he looked down in shame with tears in his eyes._

_The twelve-year-old human girl blinked at the baby from atop her bed as she read a book. She scanned the hybrid for any sign as to what he was referring to, but came up empty,_

_"About what, Shadow?"_

_Shadow gripped his hands together in anxiety and tears started to fall from his face,_

_"I-I ate the freeze-dried ice cream you were saving."_

_The water works were flowing down his cheeks and landing on his bare feet. Maria closed here book and sat on the ground next to the sobbing child. She put her hand on his back while he cried into his hands,_

_"I really sorry. I don't know why I did. I just really wanted it. Please still be my friend."_

_Maria removed his hands from his eyes and held them at his sides,_

_"Of course, I'll be your friend, Shadow. Yes, I'm disappointed about my ice cream but it made it better because you were honest with me. I know you're sorry. I bet telling me truth makes you feel a whole lot better doesn't it?"_

_Shadow nodded and the girl wrapped the hog in a hug and then kissed the top of his head._

Shadow finally reach the office door. He shifted his eyes around to see if he had any eyes on him. He took ten years to lift his hand and prepare to knock.

Knock knock.

Shadow turned quickly hoping that she hadn't heard him and he could say she wasn't in.

"Come in."

Julia sat at her desk staring over her reading glasses at the hedgehog who was peeking his head in the door. She watched as he silently shuffled into the room. She was taken by surprise, Shadow never knocked; not when he entered her office anyway. He only walked in and on a good day took his seat. This time he stood before her and from the look on his face she could tell he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. Shadow looked down at the new mismatched chair that was obviously a place holder until a new one was bought. He then looked at the wall that had been plastered over but not repainted. The dark male lowered his head and spoke to the ground,

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Julia spoke genuinely confused.

Shadow reluctantly made eye contact and spoke clearer than before,

"I'm sorry for how I acted the other day."

Julia and the hog stared at each other for a long time before the woman broke the silence,

"I… I honestly was not expecting that…ha ha, you are unpredictable, aren't you? I… I already forgave you Shadow, you don't need to worry about it. It was partially my fault; I should have surveyed the situation more. You weren't ready to talk about that."

Shadow shuffled his feet a bit, not knowing exactly what to say. He hated being caught off guard like this or not being prepared for a situation, especially social ones. He took a deep breath and then sat in the chair without prompting,

"Rouge explained to me that asking those kinds of questions is a part of your job, so you do not need to apologize for my sake. It is alright I can handle it."

Julia looked to the hog then back down at her reports and file on Shadow, she had laying on her desk. She smiled softly,

"You know, when I was given your case, I was told that you where almost like a machine. That you were… well like a monster. An alien hybrid with no morality. I thought that couldn't be right because then why would you have saved people from the black arms."

The little woman had caught shadows attention. He winced a little at her words because he had also caused some of the deaths during that whole ordeal but still, he listened intently as she went on,

"I was told to just drug you up, and send you on your way. But that wouldn't help you now would it. And I'm glad that I didn't fallow their advice, because they were completely wrong. You have a conscience; you feel guilt. You didn't have to apologize, but you did. I know you a definitely better than those who instructed me to just do away with you."

Shadow silently looked down to his shoes, wanting to believe her words but just couldn't. the woman sat back and riffled through her drawer. She held her hand out,

"Candy?"

Shadow shook his head,

"No, thank you."

He didn't feel like he deserved it anyway. The dark hog relaxed a little in to the chair, it felt good to have that over with. He had wanted thing to go back to the way they were but when she said that she believed in him something felt different. What was it about this woman that made him feel better? He supposed that was why she went into the profession in the first place.

Julia popped a jolly rancher in her mouth,

"Anyway, I heard that your mission went well."

Shadow leaned an arm over the back of the chair,

"Oh, and how do you keep hearing these things?"

The woman laughed,

"I don't know if you've noticed but Towers has a thing for me. He tells me everything about his unit, especially if he's in a good mood."

Shadow assumed that she meant more than a friend. Shadow thought for a moment. No, he hadn't noticed that, but he didn't understand most social cues. Things often went right over his head but he'll pretend he's in the know, by gods.

"Um, so he sees you romantically?"

Julia took another piece of candy out of her bag,

"Yes, I think so. Why is that an issue?"

Shadow couldn't wrap his head around it. Someone like the commander acting all lovey dovey for another. Do old people even have relationships? The only thing he knew about love was that foreign soap opera he caught Rouge watching the other night. Shadow suddenly made a noise with the sides of his mouth. He realized what he had done and quickly stifled his humorous outburst. Julia giggled too,

"No, go on it's okay. What was so funny?"

Shadow's face dropped,

"No no, it was nothing."

"Oh, come on tell me please." Julia said motioning for him to continue his thought.

Shadow shifted his eyes,

"I uh, I imagined Towers as a character in a cheesy Spanish soap opera."

Julia's eyes widened then without warning the woman was in a violent fit of laughter. She howled out while beating her fist on the desk. Shadow stared confused but found himself cracking a smirk at the trained professional's behavior.

"Oh, senior Towers." She mock swooned.

Before Shadow knew it he was joining in as well. Lifting his hand dramatically, he said,

"Oh, te amo, Julia."

A knock was heard from outside the office door and they both went quiet. The tall grey-haired butt to their joke entered, and stood in the door way,

"ahem… I'm sorry if I interrupted your session, but you left your phone down in the lobby and I thought it would be quicker if I returned it to you."

Dr Baker tapped her fingers on the table and rested her chin in the other hand,

"You did interrupt. You are not allowed to walk in whenever you want. This is a private meeting between me and my patient. Legally confidential."

Towers nervously handed the small black flip phone to the woman,

"O- oh I apologize."

"Thank you for bringing me my phone, but next time just leave it with the receptionist outside please."

"Yes, ma'am sorry ma'am." The usually level headed man stammered out. The commander promptly turned around with his red face shining the way and left. Shadow turned back to Dr baker and made contact with her tired eyes,

"I can't believe it... he does like you."

The rest of the session went smoothly. Shadow finally finished the paper work that Julia had been meaning to give him for the past week. They only talked about his relationship with his comrades after that and what he had done the day before.

"Well I'm glad that Rouge is getting you to experience new things like grocery stores. That way you know what to expect when you are able to go on your own."

Shadow readjusted himself in his chair,

"Yes, well it didn't go over as well as the buffet."

"What do you mean?" the female questioned in a typical therapist manner.

"Some woman accused me of being a pervert, how dare she think I would do something so heinous to a child." Shadow answered back, folding his arms in defense.

Julia looked shocked,

"What did you do to make her think that?"

"I guess I was just staring at her kid, but I was having a... memory. I was unaware that I was causing anyone discomfort." The Mobian stated.

"A memory?" Julia said confused.

Shadow realized he may have said to much,

"That's what I call them, Rouge calls it zoning out."

She picked up her notes to wright something down,

"Do you have these "memories" often?"

Shadow nervously rubbed his arms,

"Well... I suppose once a week, there not always bad though."

"When you have them do you feel like you are really there?" she pushed further.

"Yes, sometimes it feels like a dream, but I'm awake." He answered truthfully.

The Dr made eye contact with the hog over the rim of her glasses,

"Have they ever hurt you..."

Shadow was dumbfounded. He didn't know how to answer her, but she seamed to know something he didn't,

"... sometimes."

She looked back down at the paper,

"Do you know what causes them?"

Shadow tried to look over and see what she was writing,

"No…well different things that remind me of the memory I suppose."

The timer on the desk went off. Julia stopped the alarm and turned back to Shadow,

"We are going to talk about this next time. Until then I don't want you going on any more field missions, okay."

"Um, that's not my call." Shadow said more confused than ever.

"I'll take care of it. Don't worry."

Afterward, Shadow walked back to his group. The whole way the dark male thought about the Dr's reaction to his episodes. Was it not a normal thing that happened to people, he thought? Come to think of it, he didn't remember having them when he lived on the ark. Of course, a lot of those memories were still fuzzy. He returned to Rouge who at that moment was having an argument with Omega,

"Omega, you can't! If I take you to the store we are not going through the self-checkout."

"This is unsatisfactory." Omega blurted robotically.

Shadow rolled his eyes,

"What's wrong now."

Rouge turned to Shadow and pointed an accusing finger at the mechanical man,

"Omega is upset that when we went to the store last, we did not go through the self-checkout, which there is a very good reason for that."

Shadow put a hand on his forehead,

"Okay, what is a self-checkout and why does Omega want to see it so bad?"

Rouge huffed and folded her arms,

"A self-checkout is a crappy automated machine that you go through and scan your own groceries. Omega wants to challenge it to a fight because he's a weirdo."

"You are incapable of understanding its coded sequences, it is very rude and disrespectful and needs to be taught its place." Omega stated, like a teen not getting their own way.

"What did it say, something bad about your mom? I'm not getting kicked out of another store!"

At that moment Towers cleared his throat to announce his presence,

"If you two are quite done, I suggest you return to your work!"

The tall man glared daggers at the two arguing but as soon as his eyes met shadows, he adopted a softer tone,

"If you please."

The three watched the man walk away. Rouge turned to Shadow and smirked

"Who pissed in his cheerios, and why were you spared?"

Shadow grinned an evil grin,

"Oh, you won't believe what I found out."

Rouge blinked confused and intrigued. The hog had piqued her interest; usual she was the one with the hot gossip.

Fall was in the air as Rouge drove down the road with the windows down. The whole of Team Dark sat making idle conversations. Shadow felt like that was how it was supposed to be. Just like it had been before.

"So, you're from Chun-nan and Spangonia?"

Rouge shook her head,

"No, I'm from the United Federation. I've lived here all my life. My mother was Chun-nan and my father is from the Franks part of Spangonia. So, I am a mixture of those two bat spices. Do you understand?"

"I think so. So, there are different sub species of Mobian species?"

"Yep, just like different races of humans."

Shadow thought for a moment with his fingers resting on his upper lip,

"Are there different kinds of hedgehogs?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure but I think Sonic is the Shamar sub species." Rouge answered.

"What am I?" Shadow said motioning to him self and curiously turning to the bat for answers.

The female however only continued to keep her eyes on the road.

"I don't know. You do seem to be a lot fluffier than Sonic," Rouge chuckled to herself, "You might be different. You'll have to ask for your lab records and see what kind of DNA was used to make you."

Shadow nodded. He was very interested in anything that would differentiate him from Sonic. Shadow stared out the window in thought. I am a bit bigger than him, and like rouge said I do seem to have more fur. Shadow watched the last remnants of sun fade. He felt so calm he could almost fall asleep on the car ride but something caught shadow eye. Two men wearing suits walked out of a nearby building with a young girl walking in between them. She couldn't have been more than eleven and she had short pig tails that hung from the top of her head. Suddenly her hazel eyes caught his red ones. For a moment everything was in slow motion. He had seen that look before. The look of complete terror in a child's face.

Shadows eyes widened,

"Stop the car!"

Rouge slammed on the breaks almost causing the car behind to hit them,

"What? What's your problem?"

But before rouge could even finesse shadow was hoping out the open window and in Pursuit.

Shadow chased down the men but as soon as he rounded the corner, they had already taken off in a black van that had been parked in the ally. Shadow cursed under his breath. He could easily chase down the car but that girl was inside and if they wrecked trying to get away or started shooting... he didn't want to think about it. He would have to be very cautious in how he approached the situation. He ran after them trailing behind staying in their blind spot. He didn't want to put the girl in more danger than necessary. Shadow called rouge on his communicator,

"Rouge call the police I'm in Pursuit of kidnappers. They are heading south down the freeway."

Rouge answered over the sealer but was shortly cut off by the hero shutting off the call. He didn't have time to argue he had to figure out his next move before the men reached their destination were there could potentially be more of them waiting to endanger the kid. Unfortunately, the girl in the back seat noticed him and must have caused the men to see what she was looking at. Shadows fear was realized the next thing he knew a gun was being aimed at him from out the passenger side window. He dodged the blurts and raced for the vehicle. He jumped on the roof and the driver began to swerve trying to shake him off. Everything he had wanted to prevent was happening. Shadow yanked the gun from the man's hand holding on to it from the top of the van. The vehicle turned a sharp right then left and shadow lost his balance as his new ride lifted up on two wheels. The men in the van thought that they were successful in throwing the hog off but there celebrating was cut off by the sound of the black van doors being torn off its hinges. One of the kidnappers reached for another gun in a lock box but was soon at the mercy of his own silver barrel being used against him. Shadow scooped up the girl whose hands had been bound and mouth gagged and jumped out of the moving vehicle carrying her bridal style. The two crooks blinked at each other in disbelief to what had just happened. Then the driver turned his attention back to the road and screamed. A police roadblock was right in their path. The driver tried to turn and avoid the block but turned to sharp and toppled over on the vans side sliding to a halt.

Shadow stood watching the police bag and cuff the criminals from a median. The young girl still in his arms with her own arms tightly wrapped around his neck sobbing into his chest. He gently put the girl down into the grass and needed beside her absent mindly rubbing her back,

"Are you alright?"

She nodded to her savior with tears streaming down her face. Rouge then pulled up and hopped out of her car, just as the ambulance was showing up,

"Shadow what the hell?"

The bat freeze framed on the child clinging to shadow for dear life. Then the paramedics surrounded her and began to lift the kid into the ambulance as they assaulted the victim with questions. Rouge watched then turned back to her friend in the grass,

"How did you know?"

Shadow adopted a stern expression as he thought about his answer,

"I don't know many things about this world rouge, but I do know what terror looks like in a child's face."

The bat stared in wonder and sympathy. Shadow would not get paid for this act he did not know this girl he probably wouldn't ever see her again. But he acted anyway even though he wasn't positive of the situation. Without question he knew he had to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. He did it because it was the right thing to do. He is a true hero. Rouge thought to herself with a smug grin, he's going to hate it but him and sonic are not so different after all.


	5. Good Days, Bad Days

I hope people get my snapscube reference. Thanks for reading. ;)

...

Ch5 Good Days, Bad Days

The weekend had finally rolled around for Team Dark. Shadow was surprised that he would receive days off, as Rouge had called them. But he supposed that they couldn't make him work anymore than Rouge does since they had to be attached to the hip; and Rouge got her days off by gods. The bat was very particular and high maintenance, Shadow had noticed. He honestly didn't know what to do with his time. He had never had down time, not like this. When he lived on the ark every day was a work day. Just living on the ark was like a job, filled with intense training, exhausting experiments, and caring for Maria. He hadn't minded the last part even though he was a bed aid that she essentially owned along with the professor. He preferred not to think about that aspect of it though, besides Maria never treated him like a servant. The same could not be said for most of the other scientists.

Shadow made his way to the bottom floor by stepping into the elevator. On his way down though it came to an abrupt halt. Shadow cursed under his breath, believing the elevator to be malfunctioning, but just as he was about to chaos control away a door behind him opened up. Shadow wiped around and looked at Rouge standing in a fluffy red robe with a rhinestone R on the right side. She wasn't wearing any makeup, and her eyes looked tired as she sipped a coffee,

"It's too early Shadow. Don't you know what sleep is? Where are you going?"

Shadow blinked at the question and the prospect of a secret door in the elevator,

"Actually, I was looking for you. I probably should have guessed that you would still not be ready for the day."

Rouge took a sip of her beverage while keeping her eyes on the hog,

"Come on, let's have breakfast."

The bat turned and motioned for Shadow to fallow. As soon as she showed her back to the hog noticed that there was no hole for her wings. He could see them under the fabric creating a hunch on the females back,

"You remind me of Quasi Modo."

The woman turned sharply with death in her eyes,

"Excuse me?"

"Your wings." Shadow pointed out.

Rouge tried to look behind herself then squinted her eyes at the male,

"Well not a lot of clothing companies accommodate for winged folk, so excuse me."

Shadow considered this fact. It must be a great inconvenience, especially for someone who loved the expensive and in fashion. One thing was lingering on his mind though,

"Why don't you just mend it?"

Rouge turned again,

"I can't sew."

"How come? Did your mother not teach you? I thought all women were trained in that skill?" Shadow spouted off.

Rouge thought for a moment as to what the delusional male was talking about. Then it hit her,

"This isn't the fifties hun. People don't typically have to patch up their clothing anymore. If they ruin something, they go buy new."

"Well that's extremely wasteful." Shadow huffed.

Rouge put a hand to her forehead,

"Yes, I guess it is. But women don't need to sew or anything like that anymore, that's the point I'm trying to get at. We don't have to be house wives so not every woman knows how to sew, cook, bake, or even clean."

Shadow paused for a minute,

"Oh... well, would you like me to mend it for you?"

The bats eyes shot open,

"You can sew?"

"Now who's making assumptions?" The male said cheekily.

Rouge dead panned,

"I guess you're right. Shadow, how do you know how to sew and don't tell me it was a part of ultimate life form training."

Shadow froze for a moment but quickly regained his composure, hoping that the bat had not noticed. She did.

"I was taught."

Rouge didn't press it further. She made her way over to her fancy white marble kitchen bar and took a seat in a stool,

"In that case I'd love for you to fix some of my cloths. By the way this is yours."

Rouge handed Shadow an envelope with G.U.N printed at the top. The hog carefully examined the sudden gift,

"What is it?"

"Your pay check. I pulled a few strings and got them to give you preliminary check. Since I told them that I needed to be reimbursed for your expenses."

Shadow handed the paper back to Rouge,

"Well, then it's yours is it not? To pay you back for the items you bought me and the food."

Rouge rolled her eyes and pushed the check back to the male,

"Shadow it's yours. Buy yourself something nice. Actually, tell you what, you can pay me back in mended clothes and trust me I've got a lot."

Shadow nodded finding the exchange acceptable then opened his check. The hog's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the amount,

"What... What would I do with all this money?"

Rouge, who was in the process of pulling a pan out of one of her cabinets, walked back over to Shadow to look at the check,

"Shadow that's not that much, your actual paycheck is much more. I mean it's nothing to write home about but still it's more."

Shadow stared blankly at the amount. Sure, he could spend this on things that he needed right now but he was going to receive one every week. What was he supposed to do with it when he didn't need anything? Shadow looked to the bat,

"Can we go to the store?"

Shadow perused the shelves of the furniture store trying to find anything that fit his tastes while Rouge and omega trailed behind. Rouge had picked up a sewing machine and was tasking Omega with carrying it around, as she looked for thread. Rouge was not in her usual spy outfit today. She had on one of her casual looks that consisted of a cropped hoodie and athletic high-rise leggings, along with a pair of gold tennis shoes. The bat pointed out a comforter that she thought the dark male might like; but the black and red striped item was quickly turned down. Shadow did however approve of a forest green one with an emerald green lining. Rouge watched as shadow picked up a matching pillow case and sheets set,

"Why that one?"

Shadow shifted his eyes back and forth surprised by the question,

"It's simple and it's my favorite color."

Rouge had honestly never considered that the ultimate life form had things he actually liked, enjoyed, or preferenced, it rocked her world at the prospect of something as juvenile as a favorite color,

"Oh... what's your favorite season?"

Shadow was distracted once again with the pillows and trying to read each one to find the best,

"Um, well I don't think I've truly experienced them all yet, but I do enjoy the cold more than the heat."

Rouge's mind was racing, he was actually answering her without pulling the I'm the ultimate card; I don't like anything,

"What's your favorite food?"

"Ice cream. Does ice cream count as a food? I think it does." Shadow answered still not looking at the female.

"Hun, cream is one of my basic food groups, I know that much." The bat laughed.

Shadow smirked while looking over a large card board box that read futon. Rouge thought that his therapist was working wonders on his social tendency,

"Favorite kind of music?"

Shadow lifted the box into the cart then finally made eye contact with the bat. She saw a hint of blush which the woman could only assume to be from being caught distracted,

"What... why are you so interested in my personal affairs all of a sudden?"

Rouge shrugged,

"Just making small talk with you."

Shadow squinted questioningly at the woman then turned his attention to Omega,

"Well I don't want to leave Omega out of the small talk. Omega what's your favorite color?"

The robot whirled to life at the question as he proceeded to calculate his answer,

"My preferred color code, hex code FF3A00."

Shadow nodded his head in thought,

"Yes, but what about your favorite color code sequence?"

"Code 110000111000001111000110111101111100." The mechanical man continued on as Shadow turned with a smug face and began to walk down the aisle away from the loud robot and confused bat.

"Shadow! What have you done? Shadow make him stop! Shadow! He's just going to keep going."

Once all three had made it back to club Rouge, Shadow took his newly bought goods and brought them all to his loft. The hog began unpacking the various cleaning products that he had purchased and looked at the dust and grime around him. He was certain he could knock it out by tomorrow if he started straight away. He pulled off his normal gloves and replaced them with yellow latex ones, becoming annoyed when his black claws would break through the material. He then filled a bucket with water and cleaner but just as he was about to start, he heard a knock at the door. He looked up from what he was doing in irritation. He thought that people couldn't get up to this floor. The hog opened the door and on the other side stood Rouge with an old t shirt and shorts on and Omega right behind her,

"Shadow, I wanted to say I'm sorry earlier. I completely forgot about the mess up here and I've been so wrapped up in my own shit it never occurred to me that you didn't have any way of cleaning it up."

Shadow stared at the usually done up female. He had honestly not wanted to alert or alarm her to that fact. She had already helped him so much and he felt he had failed to give anything in return. Rouge took shadows silence as an opportunity to assert herself before he could protest,

"besides we have the ultimate cleaning and sterilization bot."

Rouge stepped to the side presenting Omega with jazz hands as the robot stood in a battle stance, showing off his new attachments. Two spinning buffers,

"All microbes will submit to my power."

They worked all afternoon on cleaning up Shadow's new home. That's what it was beginning to feel like for the dark male, his home. Shadow sat on the floor putting his futon bed together while omega buffed the hardwood floors and rouge flew up to the windows and skylight to squeegee them. Around eight o'clock the job was done and the place was a shadow of its former self. The male sat on his new bed and felt at peace. His mind was clear just like the dirt and he was... happy? Rouge sat next to shadow and omega awkwardly sat on the floor trying to copy the others.

"Is it all good now?" Rouge questioned starring at the male that looked the most relaxed that she had ever seen him. Shadow nodded and then to rouge's surprise smiled,

"Yes, this is satisfactory."

He opened his eyes that caught the last bit of sun as it went down outside the window. The shine captivated the bat like a pair of rubies.

"Thank you." The male said softly as if afraid someone might hear him.

Rouge smiled back,

"Hey it's no problem. Anyway, I'm tired and my show is on soon I'll see you tomorrow. Okay?"

Shadow nodded again and wished them good night,

"Good night Rouge; go charge Omega, thank you as well."

The robot bowed like a toy soldier to the hog then stomped out the door. Rouge waved as she flouted out behind him.

The next day Shadow was once again up at the crack of dawn and unsurprisingly rouge was still asleep and would probably be until noon. Shadow made his way downstairs undetected and walked outside. He wished for a change of scenery. He wanted to visit his favorite spot in the central city park. It wasn't too far away and he should be back before anyone knew he was gone. He needed to stretch his legs and he didn't care what gun said the bat just didn't have his stamina and he wanted to be alone. Shadow race out the front doors and then down the street.

Once in the park Shadow found his tree. It was on top of a hill and overlooked the rest. Blue and white flowers grew underneath the tall oak and the sound of birds filled Shadow's ears. He stood in the same place for a long while and lost track of time. Just as he was about to head back, a strong gust of wind blew past him. No; this wasn't wind. Shadow groaned as he turned to see a familiar blue hedgehog standing about a yard away with a dumb smirk on his face.

"Hey Shadow! Out for your morning brood?"

"Leave me be, hedgehog."

"Aww you're no fun, say I need your help." Sonic said placing his hands behind his head and looking to the tree.

Shadow froze. He didn't look at the teen but he could see him in his peripherals. Sonic needed his help? Of course, Sonic needed his help, Shadow thought, he's the ultimate life form. A sense of pride swelled within the striped male,

"And what could you possibly want?"

Sonic came closer as if before he felt it was too dangerous to do so,

"So, do you know that old egghead has been up to some shady business?"

Shadow paused then his brows shot up signaling to the younger male that he had gotten his attention,

"Yes, I am aware.

Sonic was visible becoming more excited,

"Really got any info that could help me out, I'll share mine."

"First tell me what you are doing out here and what you want with me." Shadow stated a little harsher then intended.

"Well I'm gathering up all the Chaos emeralds and Tail's sensor thing is saying there's one around here and since I found you out here, I thought..."

Shadow deflated. Sonic didn't want his help in stopping the Dr, he just wanted something from him. Well he would be damned if he was about to give up his emerald to Sonic. That blue annoyance could figure out another way to stop Eggman.

"So what are you implying, hedgehog?"

Sonic sensed the tension shift to a more aggressive one and put his hands out in defense,

"Nothing it's just… I've got four, Tails has one, Knuckles has one, there's only one left and I thought that maybe you..."

Sonic was cut off,

"I don't have one, so you will have to continue your search."

Shadow lied through his teeth and sonic could tell. Shadow knew he wasn't the best at lining. Sonic didn't push it further however,

"Okay. Well I'll keep looking around then. Let me know if you find anything. Oh, um what info did you have?"

"It's classified." Shadow said through gritted teeth before he raced away.

Once he was far enough away Shadow pulled the green Chaos emerald out of his quills and chaos controlled back to club rouge. He reappeared outside the front doors and caught his breath that had somehow escaped him. He peered through the glass of the still locked doors and sighed. When would he stop feeling like a prisoner? When would things start making sense? He knew his actions in the park were selfish and petty but he was just so... angry. At who he didn't know was it sonic, was it G.U.N, was it himself? The dark male felt like locking himself in his room for the rest of the day. He teleported inside and walked past the bar at the front.

"And where have you been?"

A voice rang out from the unlit portion of the club. Rouge was off to the side washing the deceptive mirrors that had been covered in dust for far too long. She stared the hog down through the mirrored image,

"Well don't give me the silent treatment. Talk. I know you can mister edge."

Shadow balled his fists and turned to face the woman. His features consumed in rage,

"It's none of your business, bat."

Rouge was unwavered by the tone,

"Don't give me that. Do you want the humans to lock you back up? Because that's the way you're heading if you're not careful. You think you're the only one that this would affect don't you."

"Shut up!" Shadow shouted catching the woman off guard. Shadow may get mad but she had never heard the soft-spoken male yell. He didn't usually have that kind of temper much like a red echidna she knew. Shadow grit his teeth,

"If I was to be put away and tried for my crimes then nothing would happen to you. You had nothing to do with it. Gods is it too much to ask to be left alone."

Rouge finally turned from the mirror,

"Of course, something would happen to me and Omega. We would lose you. We would never get to see you again don't you understand? We both care about you."

Shadow stared yet again wanting to believe the words of another but just couldn't,

"I... I don't know what to trust... Damn it first Sonic and now this! I'm so sick and tired..."

Shadow trailed off. Rouge watched the hog's eyes glaze over,

"Sonic? Shadow, what happened? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not! I've never been! And I never will be! I'm a lost cause! I... I don't... even feel like a person. I feel like an object and I think that's what I've been my whole life. From the time of my creation I've been a tool for others to use, and now I'm useless and outdated."

Rouge walked carefully closer to the crumbling boy. She watched as a single tear hit his shoe while he was refusing to look at her,

"Oh Shadow... I'm sorry I know you've got a… well, a hell of a lot on your plate. I shouldn't have jumped down your throat. it's just I'm worried that you're too reckless sometimes. And you're not useless, please believe me."

Shadow said nothing as he continued to try and hold himself together. Rouge sighed and approached the male,

"Shadow, is it okay if I hug you?"

There was a long pause but finally the bat received a nod. She wrapped him in her arms. He stayed stationary except for the few tears that would roll down his chin and land on Rouge's shoulder. They remained like that for a while until Rouge pulled him away holding on to his arms and looking up at the beautiful young man before her,

"Well that's enough of that we don't want to ruin that spotless reputation."

Shadow smirked and rubbed his eyes. Another figure suddenly appeared from another area of the empty club,

"I too will engage in inferior emotionally comforting embraces if it will aid Shadow."

Omega outstretched his gigantic metallic arms and grabbed both Mobians squeezing them to his chest plate. Shadow rolled his eyes,

"Omega if you utter a word of this to anybody I swear to Chaos…"

"I will delete my video files of you leaking moisture." Omega belted.

Shadow sighed as rouge snickered to herself,

"I must be going soft."


	6. Making Peace not War

Ch. 6 Making Peace not War

"Shadow you seem to be distracted. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Shadow stirred from his thoughts and turned to look at Dr. Baker from his seat. He took note of her professional smile; not showing to much concern, as to not alarm him, but not showing too little, so he knew she was attentive. The dark male sighed and bit back his pride. If he danced around his issues, she would just get it out of him eventually. What was it with women being able to see through him?

"I… did something very selfish."

The woman across from the dark hero leaned back in her chair,

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Shadow shifted in his seat making himself more comfortable as well, "I know what I did was stupid and petty. I don't need you to tell me. And I know I have to fix it or I…"

"Your conscience will get the better of you if you don't?" Julia guessed.

"More or less. Maria wanted me to protect this planet and my actions may be combating her request."

Julia flinched slightly at Shadow's mention of the deceased girl, but soon regained her composure. This was the first-time Shadow spoke of her without prompting. The small woman waited patiently in silence, hoping the male would continue. Shadow sensed this and to her surprise humored the human.

"Maria once told me that her dream was to get better and go to earth. Then she would become a doctor slash dancing, botanist. I would tell her that would be great except for the fact she had two left feet."

Shadow chuckled slightly to himself envisioning his friends pouty face as she playfully flicked his nose. His voice trailed off and the silence fell over the two again.

"I apologize, but I'm not really feeling up to this today."

Julia reached into her file cabinet and pulled out a pad of paper for writing prescriptions,

"That's fine Shadow, we can end early today. Let me just give you that prescription I was talking about."

Shadow watched as she wrote down the details to his new medicine in sloppy hand writing. She had informed him at the beginning of their session that she had a diagnosis for his "episodes" he would sometimes experience. She called it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She had claimed that many soldiers had it, and that it was nothing to be ashamed of. Julia had mentioned however that she wished she could take him out of the action like a normal soldier, but apparently that was not an option in his case. She had been very upset to that fact. She really was trying he best with what she was allowed, Shadow thought to himself.

"Here you go." The woman said as she tore the paper from the pad and handed it to Shadow.

Shadow nodded and looked at the slip. Honestly, he wasn't planning on taking the stuff. He had been just fine without it and due to his biology, it might not have any effect any way. But Shadow didn't feel like arguing, so he replied with a simple,

"Thank you."

—-

Later Shadow met up with Rouge and Omega to head home. The bat leaned against her car and gave the hog an expecting glance.

"What?" Shadow said as he rounded the vehicle to the passenger side door.

"Nothing." The female answered throwing her hands up in the air in mock defense.

They both seated themselves and buckled up. Omega glanced between the two organic life forms,

"I am detecting emotional tension."

"Me too," Shadow said side eyeing his friend, "What's wrong?"

Rouge shook her head,

"Nothing is wrong. I mean we have been around each other most of the day and you haven't really said too much to me. Is there nothing you need to tell me? Nowhere we need to go? Nothing to do?"

Shadow caught on and dead panned,

"You were told about the prescription, weren't you?"

"yes sir, so give that paper to me so I can call it in."

Shadow groaned like a teen who had just been told to clean their room or they couldn't go out with friends. He pulled the slip of paper out of his quills and handed it over, still not wishing to argue. Just because he got the medication didn't mean she could force him to take it. After the call Rouge put her cell phone back in her purse and drove out of the parking garage,

"Alright we have some time to kill before we got to go pick up your drugs from the dealer."

Shadow snorted at the bats words then turned with a small smirk on his face,

"Are you hungry?"

Rouge cocked a brow at Shadow,

"I can always eat. Why are you hungry?"

Shadow softened his features which was enough to make anyone melt,

"Sort of. I mostly just wanted to see Greg."

—-

The gang sat at their usual table, chowing down on their food. The children had finally decided to leave Omega be for the moment and ran off. They couldn't quietly enjoy their meal for long though. Soon a pink and very bouncy hedgehog bounded up to the three in overwhelming excitement.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe we ran into each other. Long time no see."

Shadow rolled his eyes at the overly used phrase, that he wasn't sure if it was an inside joke between Sonic's friends or not. The pink female who he recognized as Amy rose chortled about with Rouge who was way better at making small talk then he ever could be. Apparently, she was taking a flight to Spangonia to visit a friend for a few weeks and had decided to grab a bite to eat before she had to be at the airport. Suddenly the girl turned to Shadow,

"Shadow! I haven't seen you since you helped me find cream in that castle. Thanks for that by the way. Also, I guess thank you for kind of saving the whole planet from world domination."

Shadow was shocked at the recognition he was receiving. Usually the girl couldn't go a sentence without raving how great Sonic was, so it was strange to have her recognize that he saved the day that time; not Sonic.

"Your welcome, Miss Rose." Was all he could think to say.

Amy turned her attention back to Rouge but then glanced back at Shadow with intrigue,

"Did I… interrupt something?"

"Our dinner? Yes." Shadow stated flatly.

Rouge was more susceptible to what the pink girl was hinting at than Shadow,

"Me and grumpy over there are not on a date, if that's what you are asking."

Shadow spit out a little of the water he was drinking back into the cup.

—-

After the meal team dark packed themselves up and piled into the car. Rouge drove to the pharmacy and to Shadows surprise she only had to lay on the horn once; when she felt like the person in front of her was driving too slowly. The poor person was actually going the speed limit. They went around the pharmacy pick up and Rouge cursed when she saw the line of cars,

"Come on let's go in, that's going to be faster than this, bull shit."

Shadow laughed silently at his crazy friend and then exited the car,

"Omega stay here."

"Affirmative"

Shadow fallowed Rouge into the establishment. Rouge pulled hard at the old doors that could honestly use some oil. The pharmacy itself was a bit dingy and old; it must be the only one near club Rouge that isn't rubble. Rouge walked up to the counter and spoke with the pharmacist who went to see if the prescription was ready. Suddenly something on the small tv hanging in the corner caught her eye. Sonic was on television, well a picture of him. It was one of those fake news gossips shows. The cat on screen with way too much make up on, even by Rouge's standards, was talking about Sonic being spotted in the down town area. The picture of the blue hero was not too flattering, Sonic had a donut in his mouth and either the camera they used was cursed or the picture was photo shopped, because Sonic looked like he had gained thirty pounds. Nope… not lean bean Sonic, Rouge thought, but then something the woman on screen said grabbed her attention,

"Sonic the hedgehog told our reporter that he was searching for Dr. Eggman, then refused to disclose any more information before rudely pushing away the camera man, is this how the hero of Mobious treats their fans?"

Rouge rolled her eyes at the last statement,

"well well looks like Sonic is on to him too, huh Shadow. Shadow?"

Rouge turned around to find her dark friend standing by the doors holding them open; stopping it with a nearby wooden wedge. Shadow then walked through the doors and entered a second later wheeling in a young boy in a wheel chair. The boy was smiling and thanking the hog. Apparently, the disabled button on the outside to open the doors was not working, and the tween squirrel had been stuck and couldn't get in.

—-

Shadow approached the counter and just as the pharmacist had returned with the prescription Shadow jabbed a thumb in the direction of the door,

"The disabled access button is broken."

"O-oh thank you s-sir." The man at the counter stuttered out, intimidated by the dark presence staring back at him.

Shadow tended to put a lot of humans off with his eyes. He couldn't understand it. Mobians tended to have eyes of all colors; what was so different about his? Perhaps it wasn't his eyes at all, perhaps it was the aura he gave off. Whatever it was Shadow was more thankfully he had it than not. It made things… easier, if people kept away.

Rouge stared down the male as they walked out of the building.

"What now?" Shadow snapped at the bat.

"What kind of dude acts like he's Billy bad ass, then helps a disabled kid out of no were and then scares the shit out of an innocent man a second later?"

"That man is fine, it's not my fault."

—-

Shadow opened the door to his loft and took his shoes off at the entrance way. he threw his meds on the counter top then removed his gloves. The male proceeded to empty his quills of their contents. He pulled out a file Julia had given him on his creation that he had requested; maybe the contents would give him more information on how he was made and what sub species of hedgehog he was. He then pulled out a pen, his G.U.N ID card, a hair brush Rouge had told him to hold on to and then forgot about, and finally his chaos emerald. Shadow hopped into the shower thoroughly riding himself of the day's filth. After he was done, he stepped out and wrapped his towel around his waist. He walked over to one of the various windows in his new home and opened it to let out the steam that had built up in the enclosed space. Shadow took a moment to gaze out at the city in the distance and all the people turning on the light to the floors of the far off sky scrapers as the sun began to set.

Shadow took his towel and began to dry off his head by tussling it over himself vigorously.

Whooosh!

Shadow paused and peaked out from his towel cowering his eyes. He caught a glimpse of a flash of blue zipping through the streets bellow. The hero blinked for a moment then turned to his counter top. He stared at the bright green gem sitting upon it for a moment, then on a last second decision scrambled to put his clothes on.

—-

"Are you sure? These readings don't lie, Sonic. The last emerald is somewhere in the city."

"I've searched everywhere."

"Sonic… are you telling me the truth? I feel like you know where it is but you won't retrieve it for some reason."

Sometimes that kid was just too smart for his own good, Sonic thought while talking to his best friend over his communication devise. The truth was Sonic was waiting. Suddenly the blue hog felt a spike of energy in the air and then heard foot steps behind him,

"Hold that thought Tails."

Sonic whipped around to find Shadow standing behind him with an unreadable expression. The dark hero's fur was visibly damp and he looked to be slightly disheveled. Sonic made a short wave with his hand.

"Hey ya Shadz. He he. We just keep running into each other, don't we?"

"Here," Shadow said cutting Sonic off, "Take it."

Shadow thrust the emerald into Sonic's hands. The blue hero looked to the shinning vermilion stone and then gave Shadow a soft smile, but before he could say anything Shadow cut him off again,

"I'm counting on you, so don't let everyone down."

The dark male looked off to the side not wanting to risk eye contact. Shadow waited to be called out on what he had done the few days prior but that didn't happen. Instead Sonic tucked the emerald into his quills and said,

"Thank you, Shadow."

"Yeah well…" Shadow wanted to respond with a witty come back, but found himself unable in the moment.

"You know," Sonic began with sincerity in his voice, "you can come with and we could team up… if you want."

Shadow was stunned and realized he had forgotten to breath. He raised his head in the direction of his rival but then shook it,

"No… no I can't. I'm needed here. You are more than enough to handle this."

Sonic took the indirect complement with a smirk,

"Well… in that case I need you to hold down the fort; make sure everyone is okay on your end, promise you will?"

Shadow stood still but then nodded,

"Always."

Sonic gave a signature smirk and tuned to dash off to his next destination,

"Cool. I'll be seeing you around dude."

Sonic was gone.

—-

Shadow made it back home and walked up to his loft. The entire way he kept the same stone-cold expression but as soon as he had closed the door behind himself, he was unable to contain himself any further. His heart swelled with pride and he silently fist pumped the air with a cocky smile plastered on his muzzle. Sonic had wanted him to help, he had seen him as useful, he had… why did Shadow care? Maybe it was because they respected each other. Sonic saw value in his attributes just as much as Shadow saw in him. If the hero of Mobious, everyone's savior thinks Shadow is needed, then it must be true… right?


	7. Letting Go

Notes: lets get this emotional party started! Big chapter, Shadow has a lot of issues and insecurities. And for those who are concerned, don't worry this story is far from over.

Chapter Text

Ch. 7 Letting Go

Shadow woke up early, well earlier. He made sure his pelt was shiny and every quill was tucked neatly in its place. He had to be at work in three hours and thought he would use his time to make himself the picture of perfection. The ultimate life form had an image to up hold after all.

An hour had passed and he was done grooming and decided to turn his attention to food for once. He pulled out a carton of eggs, which was really the only thing he had in his fridge, and then promptly put them back. He couldn't bring himself to eat after all, but this time it was not out of nervousness or because he was upset; today he was too excited. He slept well with a clear conscience and pride was filling his confidence. He felt… good. The dark male decided to settle on just some coffee, and that was alright by him. He walked out onto the roof of Club Rouge and relaxed himself into a folding lawn chair situated just outside his front door.

Shadow closed his eyes and breathed in.

Julia had told him that a good activity when he was bored or stressed was to meditate. So that is what he decided to do until it was time to go down stairs and meet up with his fellow coworkers for the day. He sat there with the wind and early morning air blowing through his fur. He thought about the day prior and how he had accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Accomplished? That something Dr. Baker would have said. Gods, can't she leave my psyche alone when not in her office, he thought to himself. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. It was a compulsive idea, based purely on his current mood, and he wasn't sure if he should be worried or not.

It was stupid, he thought.

He would regret it latter, he thought.

Fuck it, he thought.

—-

Julia looked up as her black and red furred patient who had just entered her room for their routine visit,

"Good morning Shadow."

"Morning, please take a seat." Shadow responded quickly, asserting himself.

The woman had been standing at her book shelf in the corner when Shadow walked in. She shifted her eyes around the room looking for the answers to what was happening. In the end she decided to do as she was asked,

"Usual I'm the one too- "

"Candy?" Shadow stated firmly, cutting the small woman off.

Shadow held out a bag of assorted Halloween candy. He had requested that Rouge stop at the store on the way to work that morning and she happily obliged. That meant she could get an overpriced frapachino from Starbucks.

"I noticed that you were running low, so this bag is for you."

Julia took a piece and Shadow, to her surprise, popped a chocolate in his mouth as well. The doctor looked to the candy then back to the hog in front of her lounging in his chair,

"Not that I'm complaining, but what is this all about?"

Shadow reached in the bag for a second piece of candy then closed his eyes as he spoke,

"What I'm about to tell you does not leave this room."

The woman blinked then smirked, showing her intrigued in Shadows new behavior,

"Of course."

Shadow placed the candy in his quills instead of eating it, deciding to save it for later,

"I have decided that I like you. You are one of the few people that I find enjoyable, so you should feel honored."

"I do." Julia nodded with a smile on her face.

The dark male nodded back,

"Thank you for humoring me, now to the matter at hand."

Julia tried to hold back a snort,

"Uh huh."

Shadow opened one eye slightly glancing to Julia,

"I'm ready to talk about... Maria. No, I want to talk about her. But on my terms."

Finally, it clicked in Julia's head. Shadow wanted to be in control of the situation. He probably doesn't get to control what happens to him very often especially with him being a genetic experiment and all. He probably likes to feel like he has a say in what is going on, and plans to get that through their conversation. Julia placed her hands in her lap and leaned into her chair giving Shadow the body language he desired,

"Okay Shadow, I'm listening."

"Good, as you know I was created by professor Gerald Robotnik about 50 years ago aboard space colony ark. Gerald used that of strong Mobian genes and alien DNA to make me. My cells were able to be infused with chaos energy because of my Mobian side and due to my alien genes, I am also allowed to control said energy. Ergo, my cells cannot die and I am extremely strong and have chaotic abilities."

Julia nodded here head acknowledging her knowledge of the matter.

"But what you don't know is why I was created." Shadow stated lifting his pointer finger in the air.

"Well from what I read; you were created as some sort of bio weapon." Julia said softly, obviously trying to not rock the boat.

Shadow breathed in and out slowly,

"No. That is a lie. My creation was marketed as that to the government to win its funding and support. Unfortunately, if they had known I was created to aid in curing a disease, they would not have been on board. Honestly my chaos abilities were a side effect."

"Why would the government not want to cure disease?" Julia asked in confusion.

"Because humans are incredibly short sighted. And I costed billions of dollars to create." Shadow explained as if it was the most factual thing any one had ever said.

The professional at the desk had a slight sneer in her voice as she spoke of the people who were too concerned with blowing each other up, then helping anyone in need,

"Oh... I see they would much rather spend that money on a weapon, I get it. Also, you are expensive."

"Indeed, let's just say I know my worth. Anyway, from the time of my creation I've had one purpose... well I suppose two," Shadow looked off to the side unsure if he wanted to continue, but he had already made his decision, " I was to help cure... Maria's disease and... take care of her. She was my best friend and as much as humans would not like to acknowledge it, my sister."

Shadow could see the wheels turning in the Dr's head as she began to piece the information together,

"Wait, why were you responsible for taking care of her?"

"She had an immunity disease. Her immune system was unreliable and she would fall ill to the most common of illnesses. The common cold had the potential to kill her. As such it was believed that I could not contract disease or transmit it. Once I was fully formed, I was given the responsibility."

"That seems like you had a lot of weight on your shoulders from the beginning." Julia said, trying to bait more from the conversation.

Shadow opened his eyes and narrowed them to focus on a spot on the floor. He was beginning to regret this idea already. Maybe he enjoys his own misery, because who would willingly sully their own good mood like this. No, a part of himself knew that he had to,

"Yes, but I was very proud of what I was; and my entire existence I dedicated to curing Maria. I endure painful experiments every day for her. But if I ever… didn't fully want something, the guilt of causing Maria to worsen was swiftly hung over my head. And if I couldn't take anymore, I was… harshly reprimanded."

Julia looked on disturbed. She had been under the impression that all of the scientists including Gerald were like Shadow's family. How could the professor allow such a cruel thing to happen to his… creation. It all made sense to her in that moment and she hated it.

"So, what went wrong?" Julia said wishing to move on.

"Fear and greed..."

—-

Shadow closed his eyes again and began to just let himself speak freely,

"The government decided that I was too powerful and feared that Gerald, who was that of German descent, would use me against them. They feared he would betray them. I was told that during that time Spangonian, Germans were not trusted among the United Federation.

They were unaware of what I was though, believing me to be some mindless creature. But underneath it all, I believe there was a fair amount of greed fueling the attack on the ark and the lies that fallowed.

I was identified as project Shadow, and later I realized that they did not try to destroy me. No, I was locked away in suspended animation for years waiting until the next corrupt leader started a war. And I would be their ultimate weapon.

They even kept the professor alive after the Ark raid, so that he could put the finishing touches into my creation from prison, but once he was done he was executed.

When the ark was attacked... Maria didn't make it.

I was actually with her when the alarm began to sound off. I was so... I didn't know what to do. I just knew I had to protect Maria somehow. I... I made a mistake.

We should have just stayed put, but the thought that humans would kill their own was not even something that crossed my mind. I thought that if we found the men and explained the miss understanding then maybe they would stop. I was naive.

When we found them, they had already executed many of the scientists on board... that was the first time I ever saw a dead body...

We ran trying to find somewhere to hide, but there was nothing, only dead ends. It wasn't like we could run out into the vacuum of space. I tried to take us to the escape pods but Maria sacrificed herself to send me down.

I wish that it had been me sending her to earth, she wouldn't have survived being on earth for very long but at least she could have seen the planet she loved before she died."

—-

Shadow felt like he had tapped out during his speech. He finally looked up to Julia whose mouth was a gape and he felt resentment, not wanting to be treated differently just because she knew. But he also felt a little relief.

"Shadow... thank you for telling me that."

The dark hog let out a long sigh and leaned back; not realizing that his muscles had tensed.

Silence fell over the two as they let the air clear.

Shadow caught the humans gaze with glossy eyes,

"Well... let me have it."

Julia blinked for a moment but then her face fell with pity,

"Well um, besides the obvious, like not trusting people and not wanting to form relationships, do you think that you are upset because maybe you … are starting to come to terms with the fact that the people that you thought cared about you didn't care as much as you did for them? And... maybe they didn't even see you as equal? And now that they are gone you don't know what to feel?"

Shadow stared blankly at the woman but the water forming a film over his crimson irises was all too telling. He suddenly took in a sharp pained breath,

"I have this fear…that because Maria was just a child… that given time she would have grown up to be just like them."

Shadow's face remained stone, but the faucet began to over flow, leaving water falls to stream down his cheeks.

The small woman had tears of her own despite her professional nature. She thought for a moment, so she could give this poor child seeking answers the best possible one,

"You cannot account for things that never happened, and personally I believe that she loved you and she Will always love you. You have fond memories of her; hold on to those. They are all that matter. And now look at your life and how far you have come. You have successfully been maintaining your promise to Maria, you have made friends, and you have many people that care about you and would never hurt you. And I know I'm not supposed to become involved with my patients but, yes I'm one of them."

Shadow scanned Dr. Bakers face for a moment before nodding and replying with,

"Thank you, for caring."

The alarm on the desk rang and Julia quickly shut it off and rubbed her face. Shadow smiled with squinted eyes as he stood to leave,

"I have a headache now."

Julia smiled back,

"Me too."

—-

Rouge typed away at her computer filling out menial busy work, or at least that's what she wanted it to look like. In reality she was posting an ad for the reopening party for Club Rouge on Halloween night. She hoped that the holiday, that usually consisted of dressing as slutty as possible, would draw in the customers after the doors had been closed for so long.

The commander walked by and the bat quickly switched over the tabs, and as soon as he was gone turned it back. The truth was that things had become pretty relaxed around G.U.N ever since the hire ups caught wind that Sonic was already after the good old Dr. it was like the man had fallen of the face of the earth anyway; nothing had been reported. So, if she had to stay at work she might as well be doing something actually productive.

Omega stood off in the corner in power saving mode, that is until his dark comrade entered the room. The hulking machine sprang to life and fallowed behind Shadow as he walked up to Rouge's desk,

"Hey."

Omega scanned the hog's features, literally, then spouted in an electronic voice,

"Do you require emotional comfort, Shadow?"

The few other workers and soldiers that were in the office area at the time, turned their heads in curiosity. Shadow shifted his eyes and saw the mass attention being placed on him. He yanked the robot by his metallic arm and whispered harshly,

"Can you keep it down. I'm fine… Thank you for asking though."

Rouge smiled at the cute display. It was like Omega was his loud little brother. The bat patted Shadow on the shoulder, causing the male to turn to face her,

"Hey, your mood did change though, is something up? You were all flying high this morning, well by your standards."

Shadow nodded and granted the female a small smirk, telling her that he had not taken offence to the joke,

"Things are just a little somber now, but I'll-"

"Ahem!" a voce rang out cutting through the conversation.

Commander Towers had walked up beside the trio while they had been distracted with each other,

"Alright break it up, or I'll have to wright you all citations... and agent Rouge, please keep your personal life at home. When you are here you work."

The bat rolled her eyes and closed the social media tab.

—-

The day had ended and Team Dark was heading home. Shadow turned to Rouge to ask her something but quickly decided against it. Rouge read his body language however and asked,

"Is something on your mind, handsome?"

Shadow nervously gripped and rubbed the leather of the car seats,

"I- well I- I just wanted to ask you a question."

Rouge noticed that Shadow's usual poker faced vail, was lifted and the dark hog was showing some rare emotions. What exactly had happened today, she wondered?

"Shoot." The female said keeping more of her attention on Shadow than the road.

Shadow gripped the seat harder and it was a wonder that it didn't break,

"you are actually… my friend, right? you aren't just using me for some sort of gain, right?"

Rouge smiled at the fact Shadow was openly considering her his friend,

"Shadow, if I wanted to use someone, there are a million easier people to manipulate and deal with than you."

She laughed out into the car, and Shadow's worries began to subside. She suddenly stopped though and adopted a more serious tone,

"Shadow, I want you to know that you and Omega are my only two true friends in this whole wide world. My best friends."

Shadow paused. He had never considered that Rouge was naturally a loner as well. Even though she was more extroverted and social, he never saw her with anyone else and she definitely didn't have any female friends. From what he had observed, other women tended to hold jealousy and resentment towered the bat. It wasn't her fault she was an attractive woman to men and that she was very confident. Shadow understood now that his friend was very similar to himself, and it was pure luck that the stars had aligned so that they had met each other.

The metallic box in the back seat flipped up his slot that held his eye lights,

"I too wish to be a part of both Shadow and Rouge's social pack."

"Pack?" Shadow questioned his mechanical companion.

Omega opened a tiny compartment and extended a long thin metal rod, most likely for precision object manipulation, and placed it on Shadow's forearm as if to give comfort,

"Social allies ensure a greater chance of survival. I will assist you in not sub coming to isolation."

Rouge snorted and Shadow gave his friends a large toothy smile.


	8. Halloween Freak Show

WARNING!!! - If you don't care about warnings disregard this.  
Big Chapter!

So I have to give a warning on this chapter. This is one of the main reasons that this story is rated teen and i'm a bit nervous about posting it. I planned this chapter's concept from the beginning. Please keep in mind a lot of my inspiration comes from my personal experiences, so please be respectful. That being said...

Shadow is still very confused and does not understand most people or situations, which ends up getting him into trouble. This chapter deals with implied sexual themes and consent. Nothing too intense just thought i'd warn people.

—-

Ch 8 Halloween Freak Show

Rouge turned her eyes back and forth between two different packages of streamers in her hands. One was black with white ghosts while the other was simply gold, but in a pom pom style. After staring at the party decorations for about twenty minutes, the bat finally shrugged and threw both into her cart. Her grand reopening Halloween party was tonight and Rouge wanted to pick up the last-minute decorations right after work. She had requested the next couple of days off for the event, which meant a certain someone had days off as well.

Rouge flicked her eyes up to the male in question, who was a good yard ahead of her in the isle. Shadow was standing next to omega, and they both were watching the solar powered ornaments on the shelf move back and forth endlessly. Omega was only wondering why organic life forms would want such a thing or what the purpose was. While Shadow on the other hand, was secretly contemplating whether he could sneakily buy the one in the shape of a little bat, that reminded him of rouge, without her noticing.

Rouge giggle to herself as she observed her friends' heads move in time with the swaying toys. She took her buggy and rolled it up to Omega, lightly taping the robot to get his attention,

"Beep. Beep. Come on you two. We better get going, we have a party to throw."

—-

The female watched as Shadow slightly cringed, but then didn't express his displeasure further.

All three walked into Club Rouge with their bags of decorations. The entire club was already decked out to the nines with golden pumpkins and sexy monster displays hung on the walls. The bar even had a jar of jelly eye balls on the counter. Shadow was dreading the clean-up, but after tonight maybe Rouge would make enough money to feel comfortable hiring a clean-up crew again.

Rouge began to intertwine the black and gold streamers together and flew up to mount them over the alcohol cabinet. As she did this Omega motored off to check on the DJ stand to make sure, one last time, that everything was in working order. Shadow stood next to Rouge and began to twirl the streamers together just as she had done, and handed the put together décor to the bat, from the ground. Rouge managed to catch the saddened look from her partner in crime,

"What's the matter, hun?"

Shadow stiffened a little at the question, but soon sighed and gave in,

"It's nothing, I just don't want to have this party. They are loud and full of intoxicated people. I'll just stay up in my loft."

Rouge floated gently to the ground and placed a hand on her hip,

"Oh Shadow… I was hoping you would join in on the fun. Even if you just stayed and watched. We are going to have some cool music for Halloween and I even planned to through in some oldies to make you happy."

Shadow considered her kindness in thinking of him, but even though he had been showing blatant signs of progress regarding crowds, and physical and social contact, he still didn't feel in his gut like he was ready for something like that,

"Rouge, I don't think that's a good idea… not yet at least."

"Please, you've been doing so good with people lately," Rouge said with clasped hands and a quivering lip, "and I already bought you a costume."

Rouge had gone out of her way to buy me something for the occasion, Shadow thought to himself. If Rouge thought he was ready, then maybe his gut was wrong. Shadow nodded and gave a weary smirk,

"Alright, I'll stay at the party."

—-

Shadow carefully placed his new bat ornament in the window seal right next to a plastic robot figurine, that he got out of a cereal box. (Little did the dark male know that said robot was a transformer. Optimus Prime to be exact.) He looked at his tiny collection and then felt a little silly. Was it childish of him to have these children's toys? Julia would say to do what makes him happy and not worry about stuff like that, he thought, but that was easier said than done. Shadow still had the underling fear that a disapproving scientist would invade his space and take his few possessions away from him, possibly even destroying them. Shadow suddenly felt his vision start to go fuzzy and his head start to hurt. He pressed his palms to his temples and began to breath in and out slowly, just like Dr Baker had taught him. The pain began to subside and his vision returned to normal.

Shadow blinked slowly and looked around the confined space that was his kitchenette. He was fine. It worked. I don't need that medicine, I can handle these episodes on my own, shadow mused in his head. Maybe he was ready for a loud party. Of course he was; he was the ultimate life form. All he wanted to do was just watch anyway, and that was enough for him.

Shadow puffed out his chest with a new bout of confidence and turned to enter his living area. Sitting on his futon was a plastic shopping bag that Rouge had given him. Inside the bag was his costume for the party.

Shadow stood in front of his mirror looking over his attire for the night. He wore a pair of black slacks with a flowing white shirt that had an old Victorian style riffle at the neck. He also had a red gem stone neckless that hung loosely by a thin gold chain. His shoes were black leather boots that had straps that went all the way to his knee. The final piece that brought the whole outfit together was a long black silk cape with crimson lining on the inside.

A vampire, really? How original Rouge. He supposed it did match his coloring and it did look striking with his sharp canines, but it wouldn't have been his first choice. Shadow would have much rather been something like the grim reaper with a skull mask or maybe Black Quill the Pirate. Shadow huffed in amusement at his own joke silently to himself, but then felt dumb doing so. Then the sound of distant music invaded his ears and he realized the party must be starting.

—-

Shadow made his way down to the elevator and pressed the button for the club room floor. The bell in the elevator sounded and the doors slide open. Blinding light filled the dark hog's vision as the exit reviled a sea of creatures, human and Mobian alike. They all were dancing to blaring club music while wearing costumes of all kinds. Shadow stepped out and was forced to lay witness to a male lion dressed as some brightly colored super hero thrusting his pelvis up against the rear of a curvy sheep woman, in a maid outfit. The movements were obviously in time with the music and the sheep didn't seem to mind as she vibrated her hips. Shadow had never seen anything like the display. Weren't activities like that supposed to be… private, Shadow questioned?

The caped male turned away so he didn't make eye contact with the two and tried his best to hold back the nervous blush forming on his face. He pressed on to the bar. Hopefully he could find Rouge and give her a piece of his mind for convincing him to go through with this.

Shadow made it to the bar, but it was packed. The seat he usually occupied when the club was closed, was being seated by a tall human man in a plastic suit of armor. The man was downing drinks like they were going out of style. Shadow only wanted the man to give him some wiggle room so he may see into the bar. Shadow tapped his shoulder to ask him.

"Do you gots a problem punk! I was her firs!" The man slurred his words.

The knight had twisted his stool to turn to Shadow and point a disrespectful finger in the vampire's face. However, the drunken action caught Shadow off guard and the hog grabbed the digit that was an inch away from his nose and cracked it upward on instinct. The man yelped in pain a yanked his finger way,

"Okay Okay! Friggen psychopath. Whatever ya cans haves the seat… god damn coat."

Shadow watched the man stumble to the dance floor and try to hold a conversation with an unamused woman. The vampire sat in the seat distracted by the woman dumping her drink on the drunk.

"Hey there, tall dark and handsome. Come here often?"

Shadow turned back to the bar to find Rouge drying a shot glass and giving him a knowing smirk; while Omega stood in the corner observing the curious people poking him to see if he was real or not. She was wearing a long black dress that hugged her body. The neck of the dress was a long v-neck that almost traveled to her navel, presenting the curvature of the sides of her breasts. In her hair, was a comically small witch's hat and spider webs. Shadow had a feeling she probably already owned the dress and the hat was just to make it a "costume". Shadow had to admit the backless dress paired with her bat wings did make the outfit, even if it was a bit revealing.

"Unfortunately. Rouge, this is terrible," Shadow began in a harsh tone but upon his friend's face turning to disappointment, changed it to more light hearted, "Uh.. everyone here acts like you."

Rouge blinked and then snorted. She playfully gave Shadow a push from over the counter,

"How dare you. Now I'm offended."

Shadow smirked to her then frowned suddenly,

"Rouge why did that man call me a coat?"

Rouge stiffened at the term, then turned her attention to the drunk on the dance floor obviously harassing the woman. A scowl formed on the bats purple painted lips and she snapped her fingers to get the attention of a burley bear dressed in all black. The bear nodded to Rouge as she motioned to the human and then pointed her thumb to the door. The bat sighed and place her hand on her forehead,

"Hun, it was a slur. A bad slur for Mobians."

Shadow didn't understand and gave Rouge a confused set of brows,

"But... what does it mean?"

"You know... like skinning an animal... and making fur coats out of them." Rouge tried to explain.

"Oh..."

Shadow had not expected the term to have such a dark connotation. He was about to question why a human would have an irrational hatred toward Mobians, but stopped himself once he remembered what he observed on the ark. From what he recalled humans had the capability to discriminate against even their own species. He pondered for a moment if Mobians could be racist as well before Rouge brought him back,

"Have a margarita on me, don't worry it's a virgin. I'm not sure if you count as a minor or not."

Rouge winked and slid him a glass. They looked up to see the drunk being escorted out but not before he shouted Rouge's way,

"Stupid bitch!"

Shadow narrowed his eyes as a blind rage took over his vision for a moment.

Shatter

Shadow looked down at his hand to find that he had crushed his margarita glass in his hand in anger. Crimson Blood mixed with tiny specks of glowing green dripped onto the counter and Rouge gasped,

"Shadow! Oh my gods! Are you okay?"

Shadow stared down at his hand. He didn't mind the pain he was more in shock of the unconscious action.

"I'm so sorry I'll pay for the glass."

The bat shook her head,

"What? Shadow screw the glass your hurt"

"It's only a minor injury, shadow said even though he had glass lodged in his palm, "it will be fully healed in about an hour."

Before Rouge could protest Shadow pinched the shard in between his fingers and pulled it from the flesh of his palm, like it was nothing. Suddenly the hog felt eyes on him and realized that the entire bar had gone silent and was staring at him. Shadow shifted his eyes around before landing them on Rouge's concerned face,

"I'm going to go... treat this."

Rouge nodded and handed Shadow a first aid kit from under the counter. Shadow swiftly leapt off the bar stool and off to a more secluded place to hide from the world, but not before he heard the bat yell at the patrons at the bar,

"What are you looking at! Mind your own business!"

—-

Shadow sat on the stairway next to the pent house elevator with the unopened first aid kit. He debated on just heading up stairs and ditching the whole idea. He had only been at this party for approximately half an hour and things had gone downhill so fast. But he told Rouge he would stay.

Suddenly a Mobian cat appeared from behind the stair well. She must have been using the restroom that was back there. She swayed a little bit then corrected herself. She was about to make her way back to the party when she noticed the blood.

"Oh gods dude! What did you do?"

The orange cat before Shadow was sporting a very risqué cowgirl costume complete with hat boots and a jean skirt that barely covered her modesty. Shadow waved her away wishing to be left alone,

"I'm fine."

The young woman must not have registered Shadow's course, irritated, warning voice because she ended up sitting next to him anyway.

"Why are you all alone over here handsome?"

Shadow rolled his eyes. Everyone at this party WAS just like Rouge, but maybe that was a little more comforting. Shadow realized he had yet to give the female an answer.

"Oh, I see the strong silent type huh?" she glanced down at his injured hand, "are you sure you're okay?"

Shadow averted his eyes from her; attempting to put a wall between them,

"Yes, trust me my job requires that I can handle much worse."

"What are you like a cop?" the feline asked raising her brow and smiling with teeth illuminated in the dim lighting.

Shadow wasn't sure how to respond,

"That's... classified."

The cat's eyes wrinkled at the corners as a huge Cheshire smile spread,

"Ha! Oh shit, you're not joking, are you? Are you like James Bond or something?"

Shadow kept his poker face but really didn't know how to respond. He tried to find the words but ultimately settled on what his mouth decided to blurt out,

"Well- um I- how do I say stop asking questions, without sounding overly rude?"

"Ha! I like you. You tell it like it is. Just at least give me some sort of clue. Come on you got me curious now."

Shadow didn't have any words. He couldn't believe that he was just talking with some random person and he was succeeding at it. She didn't think he was a complete weird-o, true she was a little intoxicated, but he never thought he would ever get this far in a social situation,

"Well a few weeks ago I was in a car chase if that tells you anything."

The female's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open,

"Get out! That's crazy!"

Shadow nervously rubbed the back of his neck and second guessed his words,

"Is… it?"

The false cowgirl was waving here hands about with excitement as she spoke, easing shadow's anxity,

"Yeah, I mean my life isn't nearly as exciting as that. I work at the dinner down the street. The craziest thing that happens to me is the occasional angry customer. Well, I guess I have had a plate of pancakes thrown at my head before so there is that."

Shadow chuckled softly to himself at the thought,

"Sounds like you're not that good at your job."

The girl snorted and raised a cocky brow,

"Sounds like you've never worked with the public."

Shadow just nodded and the two fell into an awkward silence. The light at the party were beginning to bother him but now he didn't much mind. He had a new sense of confidence, even if it was small. Perhaps what happened before was just a fluke. Suddenly the young woman spoke up with a slightly nervous undertone to her voice,

"My names Cassey, by the way."

"Shadow." He reluctantly answered back.

Cassey rolled her eyes with a grin spread across her white muzzle,

"Ha Ha, that figures… Hey-uh- Shadow, do you want to maybe go dance or something?"

Shadow looked out at the crowded dance floor full of people bumping and grinding. Too much physical contact for his taste,

"I don't dance."

"Well, at least hang with me and listen to music or something." Cassey said standing up with a slight blush dusting her face. Shadow wasn't sure if it was because she's a little drunk or if she was a little nervous around people too.

Shadow looked up to find his friend, who wasn't really able to enjoy the party herself. Rouge was still at the bar serving customers and dealing with rowdy drunks. Shadow caught a glimpse of a soiled white rag covered in his blood under the counter and he cringed. He could at least try for rouge; he did just bleed all over her counter for no good reason. He owed her that much,

"Sure, I'd like that."

—-

Both Cassey and Shadow hit the dance floor. Well, Cassey did, while Shadow stood by the wall watching and talking with her every so often. They made snarky comments regarding other party goers and the cowgirl even brought him an alcoholic beverage. Not that it could affect him, but he liked her trouble making nature. In fact, he was having a little bit of fun. This girl was not someone Shadow would consider making a lasting friendship with, but he wasn't regretting this. If anything, this was excellent practice for his social skills. A small, childlike, part of himself that craved praise, couldn't wait to tell Dr Baker about this when he returned to work.

—-

Rouge looked up from her glass wear, that she was currently wiping down, to try and see if Shadow was still by the stairs. When she didn't see him, she sighed and faced the party. She felt guilty. She was the reason shadow came to this party and it had only ended how he said it would. On top of that she couldn't chalk it up to him just not trying, the boy was doing his best. Suddenly one of the songs she had picked out just for Shadow came on and she watched as people either looked confused or annoyed, or the got into doing the twist. Either way the dance floor began to thin out allowing Rouge to catch a glimpse of a familiar black hedgehog in the corner smiling at the song as a cat girl tried to dance to the oldie but goodie. He watched her cut a rug and even seemed to snort a little when put a modern flare on it, by dropping low to the floor. Rouge couldn't help but smile like a mad woman. She probably scared away a few customers in her excitement, but she didn't care. This was a success.

—-

The cat and the hog shuffled through the crowd in an attempt to make it back to the stairs. Shadow had told the girl that he needed a break from all of the people and to his surprise she understood. The sat together as shadow tried to clear his head and regain some energy. Cassey was silent for a bit but then scooted a little closer to shadow,

"That was fun, I'm having a lot of fun with you."

Shadow turned to look at her. Her tone had changed and Shadow was trying to decipher what it meant. The sudden sultriness in her voice reminded him of Rouge however, so he didn't think to much of it. That's just how people are right? Shadow shifted his eyes in a questioning manner,

"Uh huh."

Without warning the female placed a hand on his knee. Shadow looked at the intrusion of his personal bubble and began to sweat. What was she doing? She had been really good not being too handsy with him till now. He tried to ignore it, not wanting to offend her and ruin all his progress. Cassey took the silence as an invitation,

"You know, we could go somewhere private and continue the fun."

Shadow's head was drawing a blank. What was happening? Why was this happening? She leaned in closer and her hand glided up his leg a little more. Shadow's nervousness vibrated in his chest. He wanted this to end but he didn't know how to stop it without becoming his antisocial self. Was it even worth doing anything about, he thought, was this a normal thing strangers did?

"What do you mean?" Shadow managed to get out in a deceivingly level headed manner.

The cowgirl's eyes were half lidded and she leaned even closer. She was no longer caring whether she crossed her legs allowing her panties to be seen under her mini skirt and she unbuttoned the top few buttons to her red flannel shirt. Then she winked as if that was supposed to give the hybrid hedgehog a clue. Here hand slipped up even further up his leg, this time intentionally, and her other hand went to his chest. Shadow stared at her. Rouge had never touched him like this. He wanted it to stop,

"Please don't touch me."

The female took the hand that was on his chest and reached it up to the ruffle on his costume. She loosened it revealing the white fluff underneath. Did she not hear me, Shadow thought to himself? He began to shake.

"Oh, come on. It doesn't have to mean anything." the girl whispered to Shadow a few inches away from his lips.

Shadow was frozen in place. What did she mean? His mind was racing. He was just about to say something to the hands-on female when he felt her fingers slide to his inner thigh. Shadow didn't want this. He didn't even know this girl. Why was she doing this? The only way he could describe what he was feeling was uncomfortable. This wasn't like his usual episodes. This was something knew entirely. He had never experienced anything like this. He was concerned. He was anxious. He was… scared.

He shook in fear and closed his eyes wishing this stranger would leave him be. He should have just got up and left, he should have just pushed her away. She couldn't hurt him, he was too strong. But he didn't do any of those things. His body wouldn't let him. He was too afraid and his mid wasn't processing the situation properly.

Then he felt cold shock run up his spine when he felt her fingers reach their final destination. she grazed him through his slacks and his eyes shot open with a frightened gasp.

—-

Rouge was in the middle of arguing with a customer when she heard and felt an explosion. Most of the people at the party ran for the exit thinking that a bomb had gone off. The bat spread her wing and darted to wear the sound had come from. She reached the stairs and found a crowed of people that had gathered around the commotion. Rouge shoved past them and found a terrified girl, a destroyed stair case and Shadow. The dark hog's eyes were wide and glowing. The yellow energy that looked like his chaos spears was shooting out of his body and connecting with the ground. His teeth were borne and a few angry men came to the girl's aid as they pointed accusing fingers at the hog. The men lifted the girl off the ground as she yelled at the hybrid,

"What is wrong with you!? just because you're like… gay or something, doesn't mean you can try and blow me up!"

Shadow flinched,

"I'm not- I just didn't want you touching me. I told you that!"

The girl snarled,

"You almost killed me! You're a Freak!"

The other people started to yell out their anger at the hog and Shadow took a good look at all the disapproving faces. He closed his eyes and covered his ears.

Zap!

He was gone in a flash of light.

—-

Shadow appeared in his loft. That was the farthest he had ever chaos controlled without an emerald ever, but he didn't have time to think about that. He started to gather any belongings he could fit into his G.U.N issued duffle bag. He tore off the vampire costume, literally, and put his jet shoes back on.

"I can't stay here. I have to leave. They will come after me." Shadow rambled to himself.

The door opened and Shadow turned in defense with a chaos spear in hand. However, he put the energy weapon away once he realized it was only Rouge and omega. The bat approached him with concern in her teal eyes,

"Shadow, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to-"

Suddenly Shadow was grasping her shoulders with fear that the bat had never seen coming from the hedgehog,

"Please Rouge, I beg you. don't report this to G.U.N. Please I… I can't go back into stasis. They will lock me away for sure. Please! I'll pay for the stairs. You have to trust me, I never meant to hurt anyone."

Rouge looked at the crumbling male in shock. Shadow pulled away,

"What am I doing… This is what I've resorted to. Groveling? Groveling so I stay free?"

Shadow nervously laughed into his hands and sat on his futon. He flattened his ears to his head and crossed his arms protectively over his chest and grasped his shoulders. Rouge walk over to shadow carefully,

"Shadow… I'm not going to tell anyone. I'm your friend remember? You can trust me. I don't know all the details but it sounded like that girl was in the wrong, even if you shouldn't have attacked her."

Shadow met his ruby irises with the bat while he tried to stay calm. Rouge sat next to the hog and omega squatted on the floor next to them.

"No one is entitled to touch you that goes both ways. For men and women. You don't need to feel ashamed."

Shadow shifted in the cushion and spoke with a solemn voice,

"No she was right. I am a freak. I am never going to fit in. I'm never going to be okay and I'm just going to have to accept that."

Rouge shook her head in disagreement,

"Hun, I'm sorry. I saw your improvement and ran with it. I should have listened to your feelings. You told me you weren't ready and I ignored you because I wanted you to have fun. But listen to me when I tell you that you are still ten times better than you use to be, you have been happier lately, I can tell… this is just a bump in the road, you can overcome this. Don't let this discourage you. Things are always going to get worse before they get better. You-"

Beep. Beep. Beep

Rouge cursed under her breath as her communication watch she was wearing, that looked like a normal gold one, went off. She glanced down at the message from G.U.N then frowned at the devise as sarcasm dripped from her voice,

"Well this is just great. Perfect timing commander!"

"What does the message read." Omega's robotic voice cut in.

Rouge looked at Shadow apologetically as the male stared back with tired eyes,

"We are needed at HQ, ASAP. Apparently it's an emergency."


End file.
